I know it can be tough but think it is really important in situations like this to tell people what you’re looking for. Like explicitly telling your friend “I’m on top of all of the research and know my next steps. I’m just looking to vent to a friend right now and don’t want advice. Are you okay to hear what I have going on?”

In other difficult situations, like say a breakup or job loss, it would be pretty normal for a friend to offer advice if you talked to them about your problem. That doesn’t mean it isn’t painful to hear unwanted advice, but for the most part people that care about you are trying to be helpful and offer reassurance, so if what they are doing isn’t working for you I do think there is a level of personality responsibility on you to share that what they’re doing/saying isn’t working. This is a super tough process, but people can’t read your mind, so if they are a good friend who you want to continue talking to you may need to tell them more overtly what kind of help or advice would actually be meaningful to you.