Letting someone know you like them and that they’re cared for is a surprisingly powerful gesture. It’s also something people are inclined to lose sight of when they’re going through a tough time.
It probably needs tweaking to the specific social circumstances, but simply saying something to the effect of “you are awesome and people care about you; don’t forget that” goes a lot further than you might expect.
There might be a “five love languages” thing going on. Words of appreciation don’t do anything for me and can even make me more sad, but any kind of surprise gifts make me happy for a long time, even if they’re really crappy. Maybe it’s a good idea to ask the person “what kind of caring do you appreciate the most?” (words, gifts, time together, helpful actions, physical contact, what else?) and then try to give them that.
Letting someone know you like them and that they’re cared for is a surprisingly powerful gesture. It’s also something people are inclined to lose sight of when they’re going through a tough time.
It probably needs tweaking to the specific social circumstances, but simply saying something to the effect of “you are awesome and people care about you; don’t forget that” goes a lot further than you might expect.
There might be a “five love languages” thing going on. Words of appreciation don’t do anything for me and can even make me more sad, but any kind of surprise gifts make me happy for a long time, even if they’re really crappy. Maybe it’s a good idea to ask the person “what kind of caring do you appreciate the most?” (words, gifts, time together, helpful actions, physical contact, what else?) and then try to give them that.