Usually when someone is venting at me, I feel like I should respond somehow and say something, but I have no idea what that something could/should be. Is it better to just listen or try to comfort them in some way?

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[–] 23 points 3 years ago

Generally listening is best but there’s no universal answer to a question like this. People are complex. Some people want to be consoled, some people want feedback, some people want to be challenged, etc

But a general first line of defense is hear them out, comfort when appropriate, and don’t make it about you (“oh that’s crazy it’s like this one time I…”)

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