I was thinking phrasing the question explicitly for nurses, doctors, emergency services and the like but anyone could offer solid advice.

I’ve realized I don’t know how to react if people start crying on me for something as innocuous as asking how they’re doing or how their operation went. Others are terrified of their operation and start shaking like a leaf.

The most I can offer are platitudes, a therapist, a priest, volunteers that come to talk to those who feel lonely, something to calm down if the anesthesiologist agrees and hold their hand but I simply don’t know what to tell them to calm them down.

How do you do it?