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10 Insanely Nice Things You Can Say to AnybodyColumnist Leigh Newman weighs in on the tiny but enormously kind things you can say that may change a person's day—and (sometimes) even their way of looking at themselves.
Photo: Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
"That's awful."Sometimes, the nicest thing you can do is not to ask a bunch of probing, sensitive questions ("So what are you really feeling? Shock? Terror?"). Or try to think of way you can fix it ("Have you looked into natural herbs? Have you called those clinics in Bora Bora?"). Or to offer to help ("I'll drive you! I'll clean your house! I'll make you a lasagna!"). Or even to apologize over and over, explaining that you know that you didn't make the horrible event happen, you're just sorry it happened. Sometimes you need to take you out of it. A person in your life is upset and scared and maybe even in denial. Recognizing what's really happening gives that person the rare and much-needed opportunity to look at this terrible thing with somebody, instead of alone. Related ResourcesKeep Reading
9 Insanely Nice Things You Can Say to Your Partner (Right Now!)Columnist Leigh Newman reveals the small but enormously encouraging things we can say to the ones we love most.
Can You Change Your Partner Just by Changing Yourself?Is it possible to change another person's behavior - and transform a less-than-perfect relationship - simply by changing your own thoughts?
How to Stop the People You Love from Making You FatWhen a friend, relative or spouse is in pain, do you find yourself raiding the fridge? Best-selling author and intuitive Laura Day reveals 10 tips to turn this habit around.
Consciousness Cleanse Day 3:
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