T
Triangle
Member
- Jan 29, 2020
- 34
My friend goes through extremely hard situations sometimes and I wish I could help. I really try to feel the immediacy and pain when I listen, but I just can't seem to grasp the emotions of the situations. I think I sound like I don't care, and sometimes he gets really hurt and believes that I don't care.
I don't know what to do. I really try to be supportive, everything I can think of from offering advice to trying to say calming things to expressing that I care. None of it works. I guess I just sound that uncaring when I try. How do I sound genuine? How am I supposed to relate to others better? People say that listening to others' struggles will broaden your empathy, but I just feel so distant and disconnected to anything outside my own mind. I can't ever think of the right things to say and he thinks I ignore him, or that I only say generic things because I don't really care.
I really just want to be there for my friend and give him a hug, but we live painfully far away and that's just not an option. He's very resilient but he doesn't have anybody in his local life who's caring and he's trapped in a harmful environment. I'm the only one who's there and I feel terrible for being unable to help.
I don't know what to do. I really try to be supportive, everything I can think of from offering advice to trying to say calming things to expressing that I care. None of it works. I guess I just sound that uncaring when I try. How do I sound genuine? How am I supposed to relate to others better? People say that listening to others' struggles will broaden your empathy, but I just feel so distant and disconnected to anything outside my own mind. I can't ever think of the right things to say and he thinks I ignore him, or that I only say generic things because I don't really care.
I really just want to be there for my friend and give him a hug, but we live painfully far away and that's just not an option. He's very resilient but he doesn't have anybody in his local life who's caring and he's trapped in a harmful environment. I'm the only one who's there and I feel terrible for being unable to help.