Some friends say “You’ll be fine.” Better ones sit with you until you are.

Reassurance is often a way of ending a conversation. It sounds kind and it hands the problem back, with the implication that the feeling should now be over. Sitting there instead offers nothing and solves more, because the thing most people need is company rather than a verdict about the future. Presence is harder to give because it takes actual time.

When somebody is struggling this week, try staying rather than fixing. Ask one question and then be quiet, and let the silence be fine. You can say you do not know how it will turn out and that you are not going anywhere.