i follow a particular stranger's LJ rather diligently. more diligently than i follow a tv serial. anyway, this stranger has been rather down of late. it affects me because i've less pretty photos to see. so sad!

being a stalker, i naturally stalked the comments the other little stalkers left her. big mistake. my eyes rolled until they got so tired doing such high-level gymnastic moves. no prizes for guessing the most common phrase - I totally understand how you feel

NO! that's the wrongest wrongest thing to say if you want to console somebody. it forces me to snap back, "no, you don't." (how can you possibly understand. i'm feeling so so terrible. it's impossible that you have felt this terrible before. my experience must have had been much worse than yours.) 

because the fact is, people overestimate their own pain and underestimate others'. 

yet, some people speak the same phrase with a surprisingly consoling effect. 

maybe it's the tone.

tricky issue eh. but a hug never goes wrong.