I have an unusual problem and tbh, I have no idea what to do. People come to talk to me a lot and it's very surprising that they do because.... I'm kind of a SoCal beach bum sorta a dumbass. I'm not really smart but I always treat people with dignity and respect and I listen to them best I can without judgment.
A lot of people who want to talk are struggling with depression or anxiety, sometimes even more challenging than those. My problem is that I feel so inadequate and useless to them because I can't like... help them at all. I'm not a smart professional type with a fancy degree- I'm a layperson who doesn't know anything. I also don't have depression or anxiety and I can't understand what they are going through. Talk about feeling completely unhelpful. And I care about them- it's not an act, I really do. But I'm worried because I don't get what they are feeling that somehow I could be making their pain worse.
I don't know, this is so difficult.