Quite often, when someone else is suffering, we assume they need what we would need if we were in the same situation.
However, we all deal with suffering differently.
We all need different things, at least on a superficial level, when we are struggling with life’s difficulties.
But, deep down, we all want to know that we are loved and that we are not alone.
While we may each work through our troubles in our own unique way, this underlying truth seems to be a constant of the human condition.
For this reason, instead of trying to help others by offering the solutions that might work for us in their situation, we are often better off trying to help them by offering them empathy and companionship.