5 Ways to Comfort a Crying Friend

#1 Give a hug. Hugging sometimes may seem a bit embarrassing, but in most cases it's what people actually need when they cry. However, hugging doesn't always work, and it depends on the gender of your friend. Girls can comfort this way their friends, no matter if they are girls, too, or men, while men would rather think of another way of comforting their friend. In this case light tapping on their back is the best thing you can do.

#2 Let your friend talk. Have you ever though, that a crying person doesn't need any advice (unless the reason they cry is being at a dead-end), they need to talk. Make a cup of hot chocolate for your friend, sit next to them and have them vent their tears out with no interruptions. Yes, your advice is great, but right now your friend would rather share their pain instead of listening to what you say.

#3 Don't say any stupid things. The first thing that pops in your head to say to your friend and make them stop crying is actually “Stop crying”. However, it's one of the forbidden things to say to a person in tears. So, if you don't want your friend to burst out and feel like you never understand them, don't say any of these things: “Are you OK?” (definitely not, don't you see?), “I know how you feel, because I've been in the same place”, “What's wrong?”, “Stop crying!”, “Don't cry over this, it's no big deal”, “It could be worse”.

#4 Say something comforting. Now it's time to say something, that will comfort your friend, for instance, “Everything will be OK”, “Cry, if you want to”, “It's OK to cry”, “You cry, and I'll hold you”, “Cry as long as you need to”. It doesn't seem that these words will comfort your friend, but they let them know, that crying is normal, and there's nothing to be ashamed of. They cry away the stress faster, and thus calm down. Remember, that a person who bursts out usually can't stop their tears no matter how much they try, so it's better to wait.

#5 Distract your friend's attention. One of the way to comfort a crying friend is distracting their attention. Use this trick only when you see, that your friend is calming down and you don't want the second round of tears to come. There are many things you can do to distract your friend from sad thoughts, like going for a walk, dining out, baking desserts or putting on a really funny movie. At first it may seem a bit stupid to do these things for your friend, but gradually their mood will change and they will fell much better.