Excellent advice. People with out-of-the-ordinary stresses, especially those concerning family, often don’t need or want to hear your ill-suited advice or blanket platitudes. They want to be heard. They want to talk, complain, and cry or just dish about anything that isn’t their life. So often, stressed people have no outlet, no one to listen, or very little time to participate in a conversation. Give them the platform and shut up and listen.

Women, myself included, often complain about their husbands/partners trying to fix their problems, a similar situation to those of caregivers who receive unwanted advice. When I come home and share a story about a problem or a stressful situation at work, I want my husband to listen and say something soothing, pour me a glass of wine, give me a hug. I don’t want and don’t need his unsolicited advice about what I should do and how I should do it. I’m an adult, as are you, and we know how to ask for help when and if we need it. We also know how to work through our own challenges — most of the time.

Best advice: shut up and listen.