Don’t make it about you.
When someone you care about walks away in sadness or pain, resist the instinct to close the gap. That reflex is about you – your discomfort with their silence, your need to feel useful – not about what they actually need.

“I need space” is not always rejection. For them, distance is not absence – it is repair. The quiet is not directed at you – it is for them.

If you rush in too soon, trying to fix or fill, you intrude on what keeps them sane. You risk making their pain heavier by forcing them to reassure you.

Be a place they can return to, not a pressure they must manage.

Wait. Don’t misread their silence as a sign to push harder. Don’t confuse their face with abandonment. Say less. Don’t make it about you.

You are not there to pull them out – you are there to stay steady while they find their way back.