How to be there for someone when they’re sad????

4 comments

1. I find this quiet difficult myself. But I think just being there is most often enough. And truly listening, which means to focus on what they are saying without trying to come up with a solution or advice and without judging the situation but to just listen to what they are saying.

   Often people just need an outlet for their feelings and some kind of validation. And listening and being there is just doing that. But if you’re forcing them too much to tell you what’s going on, they might feel pressured and that might add weight to their already complicated feelings, so adjust yourself to their tempo and just be there if they ever feel the need to talk.

2. Welp there’s no rules really. Everyone needs something different at different times. You can try just saying “I’m here for you. Is there anything I can do for you?” to see if they want anything specific at that moment.

   If they don’t know or can’t think of anything just reassure them that you’re there for them, hug them/hold their hand if it looks like they could use it, but don’t force anything.

   Depending on the situation, I usually try to keep their mind off things by just doing things I would normally do with them if they weren’t sad. Sometimes the thing that adds to their pain is when people treat them differently and doing normal things both makes them feel a bit normal again and keeps their mind off their sadness.

3. “I’m here if you want to talk.”

4. If you don’t know what to say, than just be there, ask if they want to talk, comfort them the way you would want if you where sad. Or try make them happy if you know how.