I [27m] have a lot of mixed feelings and thoughts about my girlfriend of 1 year being an orphan. How can I best support her [26f]?

Something about the way this is written doesn’t come across as empathy to me – it comes across as pity, as if you have a strong savior complex. Especially after you edited in the private details of how her parents passed away, as if “losing her parents” isn’t enough and you need to further justify your “crippling sadness” at the situation.

“Sometimes I go to her place and hold her so close if I have been thinking about it a lot that day” – did she… ask you to do that? Or are you just smothering her because you feel sad about her past? And then it becomes her responsibility to make you feel better?

You’ve been together for one year, and she’s been dealing with this for a decade before that. She didn’t become a fragile little flower when you met, and it’s not up to you to save her. If you “don’t know how to deal with all these feelings”, talk to a therapist.

/r/relationships Thread