personally, I think any acknowlegment is helpul. I'd rather hear that someone understands and has no advice then get no responses.

River, I do that a lot. I do agree with my beach, that knowing someone understands helps, too.

I do it all the time, just sending hugs can help

I think showing empathy is wonderful. The more the better. Sometimes there is nothing else to offer a difficult situation.

I always tend to hand out advice, and my goal is to do it less. So please respond in a way that makes you feel comfortable. (Was that advice?)

I think it's great to say, "I know how you feel" ... To me, that's the most important thing, to get that feedback from others and know I'm not all alone. A lot of times people don't even want advice, they just want to know that somebody hears them and can understand.

If you only post to say that you understand can mean the world to the person on the other side of the post. We don't always have an answer or know what to say, but just letting a person know that you are acknowledging their existence will mean the world. We can;t always know what to say and we do the best that we can. Just know that anything is better then seeing 0's where you have posted. Hugs

I posted earlier with similar thoughts. I can't believe how much better I felt I felt with some hugs and understandings. So please do! I felt so much better!

I think merely saying "I understand" is A-OK. If it's the only positive affirmation you can give, at least it's a reply. Would make ME feel better!

Sometimes it's just nice knowing "...Is there anybody out there...?"

I think you got your answer. I agree too that letting someone know that you understand is plenty good enough. Seeing that someone cares enough to respond is sometimes the thing that means the most to people. So please do as you feel. Your understanding and compassion could make a big difference. And lets face it we feel better too when we know we tried to help someone else. At least it works that way for me.

I do that all the time and I'd rather see someone cared enough to reply than see nothing.

to me if someone takes the time to reply to a post it shows that they care . it doesn't matter if they say just a few words or a lot. just the acknowlegment speaks volumes. and can make a world of difference. in my experiences of posting on replys i have made several friends this way. how can it be anything but good.