Chrissy Teigen: The Empathy of Saying ‘You Don’t Have to Respond to This’

In a heartbreaking account of her recent pregnancy loss, Chrissy Teigen reflects on one phrase that brought her some small measure of comfort: “After we first lost Jack, I found myself incredibly worried that I wasn’t able to thank everyone for their extreme kindness,” she writes. “Many shared incredible personal experiences, some shared books and poems. I wanted to thank everyone, share our story with each individual person. But I knew I was in no state to. For me, the ‘no need to respond’ note was such a true relief.”

Teigen’s words are instructive for anybody who knows someone struggling with grief: Support should never come with expectations. You can’t take away the other person’s pain, but you can give them the tiny gift of not adding anything else to their burden.

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