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Have you ever felt unsure of what to say or how to respond to a friend who is going through a difficult time? You want to support her, but you’re worried you’ll say the wrong thing and make it worse or you’re at a loss for what you can do to be helpful for her in this season.

Or maybe you’ve been the one to go through something really hard, whether it was a loss, health diagnosis, financial struggle, relationship breakup, or something else. And when you tried to talk with your friends or family about it, the way they responded was frustrating or even hurtful, which made you feel invalidated and lonely.

I’ve been on both ends of this – I’ve been the friend with the happy news unsure of how to share it with a heartbroken friend, and I’ve been the hurting one upset by the things people told me.

Even when we genuinely care about someone in our life and we have the best intentions, we can find it hard to know what to say or how to best support them in their struggle. And yet, supporting each other through the hard times is an important life skill – and an essential part of any good friendship.

And yes, I do believe it really is a skill, just one that some of us haven’t been taught. But it’s something that you can work on and get better at, even if you don’t feel “naturally gifted” to go out and be a therapist!

So in this episode of the SHE podcast, I’m using some of my own experience from the hard seasons I’ve been through, and I’m giving you a little guide to give you a place to start.

Learn How to Support a Friend

If you’ve ever felt unsure of how to support a heartbroken friend or you want to develop the skill set that will help you be the best support you can be to those you love, make sure you tune in to this episode.

I’m diving into:

• What to say (and what not to say) to a hurting friend
• Action steps you can take now to support your friend
• How to know what your friend needs from you (because we all react to situations differently)
• Tips on how to tell your hurting friend your happy news

And let us know in the comments: what have you found to be either helpful or hurtful when interacting with a friend who’s in a difficult season? Let’s all learn from each other and continue the conversation!