Struggling with Empathy: How to Comfort Others Without Making it About Yourself

try to recognize what they're doing. most mental health issues come from either misguided beliefs, judgements/perspectives, and negative thinking. if the person consents to giving advice, try to be analytical about the nature of their mood. are they upset because things are supposed to be a certain way? that's a belief. are they upset because they've always perceived what happened as bad? that's a perception and/or judgement. if they are upset because they can't get out of their head, that is negative thinking and that in itself is a beast. usually i would give help with redirection.