Support a friend going through grief, illness, or a hard time
What to say, what to avoid, and specific practical help to offer a friend who is struggling.
The prompt
Help me support a friend who is going through something hard.
What they're dealing with: [e.g. "lost a parent", "new cancer diagnosis", "divorce", "lost their job", "miscarriage"]
How close we are: [CLOSE FRIEND / GOOD FRIEND / ACQUAINTANCE / COWORKER]
What I know about how they cope: [e.g. "private", "likes company", "hates fuss"]
Distance and what I can realistically offer: [LIVE NEARBY? TIME, SKILLS, BUDGET]
What I've already said or done: [ANY CONTACT SO FAR]
Give me:
1. A short first message I can send now, with no pressure to reply.
2. Phrases that help, and common phrases to avoid (with why), suited to this situation.
3. 8 specific, practical offers (instead of "let me know if you need anything"), matched to what I can give. Write each as a concrete offer they can say yes or no to.
4. How to stay in touch over the coming weeks and months, including dates that may be hard (anniversaries, holidays, follow-up appointments).
5. How to listen well when we talk, and what to do if I say the wrong thing.
6. How to look after myself while supporting them.
If they mention not wanting to live, self-harm, or not coping at all, tell me to take it seriously, stay with them if I can, and contact a crisis line or emergency services right away.
Highlighted [brackets] are blanks to replace with your own details.
Fill in the blanks and use this promptMore Personal Life & Wellbeing prompts
What to fill in
- CLOSE FRIEND / GOOD FRIEND / ACQUAINTANCE / COWORKER
- e.g. "private", "likes company", "hates fuss"
- LIVE NEARBY? TIME, SKILLS, BUDGET
- ANY CONTACT SO FAR
How this prompt is built
This prompt follows the Few-Shot structure (Few-shot prompting). A few-shot prompt includes one or more worked examples of the input and the output you want, so the model can copy the pattern instead of guessing it.
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