Emotional Flooding
When someone you love is crying too hard to finish a sentence, and everything's hitting at once.
Before You Start
- They don't need to make sense right now — they need to feel safe.
- Their body has to settle before their words can.
- Steadiness will help more than questions or fixing.
What They Need First
What I want them to feel from me:
What I'll be tempted to ask too soon:
What's hard for me about seeing them like this:
What Makes This Hard
- I'll want to ask what happened right away
- Silence will feel like I'm not helping
- I might try to talk them out of the feeling
- Their panic could pull me into my own
- Something else:
What Matters Most
What do I most want them to feel before any of it gets sorted?
Things You Can Say
- “Hey. Breathe with me a sec.”
- “Yeah. Just breathe.”
- “I'm right here.”
When The Wave Hits Again
- “I'm right here.”
- “You're not failing. You're flooded.”
- “You're having a hard night.”
- “Let me get you some water.”
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