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The original was posted on /r/sex by /u/OxijenThief on 2023-08-11 14:12:24.

It hasn’t happened to me yet. But I’m worried that, if it does happen, I’ll say or do the wrong thing and make them feel worse. I know it can be incredibly hard to open up to someone about something that personal and so the last thing I want to do is make someone feel like they made a mistake saying anything at all.

I don’t want to say things like “It wasn’t your fault” because I feel like that’s a bit cliche, and perhaps missing the point too because a lot of surviviors already know that, and I don’t want to say “I don’t think any differently of you” for the same reasons, as well as it not really being about me and my feelings about them at that moment. “I’m sorry that happened” feels like it’s only one cut above “that’s rough, buddy” so I don’t want to say that either.

I want to be able to make someone feel safe and listened to and unjudged when they tell me these things but I don’t know how to do it. Does anyone know how to do this or have any experience with this kind of thing?

Any and all advice will be appreciated.