Some comfort comes from letting a person speak without trying to improve the ending.

The impulse to fix a story while it is being told is usually affection in a hurry. Rewriting the ending, offering the silver lining, or suggesting what they might try next quietly says that the thing as it stands is not acceptable to hear. What often helps more is staying with the version they actually have.

Listen to the next difficult account without repairing it. Saying that it sounds hard, and then stopping, is enough. If advice is wanted they will ask, and the asking is what makes it useful.