Fun little trick I learned in therapy: validation. When someone is upset, donāt try to fix the problem, point out the cause, or tell them it could be worse. Just validate their emotions. Be like, āshit yeah man, that sucks. Iām sorry youāre going through that. Iām here for you.ā Thatās literally all you have to do to make them feel better. Thank you and goodnight.
not to get too deep on main but did anyone else have such deeply rooted issues with their self worth for so long that they thought as a kid/teen that their only redeeming feature was being ālow maintenanceā and now as an adult you give yourself guilt pangs asking for any more than the barest minimum in virtually any relationship because asking for things might negate your only good quality which is just ādoesnāt ask for thingsā