WWYD - Woman crying in the street

[ExhaustedGrinch]

There's a specific reason I have to ask this, will explain in a later post once I've got some answers.

Scenario is this: You're just wandering around town/city and you see a woman crying to herself. She's not wailing or sobbing loudly but just wiping tears away that won't stop falling.

What would you think about a person if you saw them crying in town?

How would you react?

TIA to anyone who answers

I would feel sad for them , but don’t think I would approach. I have been in that situation and I just wanted to be left alone.

I would just assume that she was upset about something

I would feel bad for her, and probably subtly ask if she was ok. Unless it looked like she wanted to be left alone.

I would ask if she was ok. I’ve been that person and I appreciated being asked.

I wouldn’t approach. That has been me sobbing in the street before and for me, a stranger approaching me would have made me feel worse.

I would ask if she was ok

If I wasn’t in a rush then i’d probably walk past her, pause and then offer her a tissue/packet of tissues (always have them in my bag).

I might well approach them but I would suss them out visually first and go with my gut feeling. I've been approached by a crying woman in the past with story about needing money for whatever emergency and it quickly became clear it was a con.

I think I would ask if there was anything I could do for her or anyone I could contact. In saying that I'm getting old embarrassing my DCs for smiling at babies.

I would stop and ask if there was anything I could do
Would def offer tissues

Assuming she doesn't look like she's recently been attacked or is under the influence, Is his she might have had some kind of bad news.

Don't know if I'd speak to her or not. If she was striding purposefully somewhere I'd probably let her get on with it, if she looked lost I like to think I'd check she was OK. Although I might hold fairly tightly on to my bag at the same time, because unfortunately there are some scumbags in the world.

I would think ‘aww bless her’ but personally I wouldn’t approach. I went through six months of raw grief where I cried every single day, sometimes inappropriately and copiously but always found it really hard when trying to talk about it.

I'd think she's having a bad day or had perhaps been treated badly by someone.

I would feel sorry for them and probably ask if they were ok. When I found out my dad was terminally ill, I was out in rush hour London, and I’ll never forget the one kind lady out of hundreds who gently asked if I was ok.

I wouldn't actually think anything about her.

I wouldn't react beyond giving a sympathetic smile if she looked my way.

I'd ask her if she was OK. Give her a smile and offer a tissue, and then I'd mind my own business if she asked me to,

I passed tissues to a woman who was weeping on the bus. I just smiled and nodded and she smiled back and wiped her eyes. When she got off she said thank you and I said ‘it’s going to be ok’ and she nodded and smiled back.

I guessed she had had a row that morning - she wasn’t distraught or grieving- and maybe all she needed was a smile.

I cried a lot when dad died and no one ever asked if I was ok. But then I’m in London!

I’d like to think I would ask her if she wanted to talk.

I have been that woman many, many times and the kindness of strangers has helped me so much.

I’d ask her if she was ok, and offer to give her a tissue/go for coffee, depending on whether I was in a rush to get somewhere.

I would offer a tissue and ask if I could do anything to help. I have been that woman too and feeling like no one cared made it worse

I always offer a tissue as an ice breaker if I see someone crying. They usually open up, but not every time. It’s just a kind gesture that you’ve noticed and it’s ok.

Speaking from experience I found crying in public horrifically embarrassing and I felt like people were looking at me thinking what an absolute weirdo. Someone saying something kind, even if I didn’t take them up on the offer of talking, made me feel like someone actually cared and recognised my pain.

Absolutely wouldn’t think anything negative about her. I would probably ask if she was ok.

I'd ask if she was okay. She might tell you to eff off, but I was once got on a train (in London!) when I saw a woman crying so I asked if she was okay and offered her a tissue, to which she said thanks. A little while later, she went to get off and passed me a note to say she'd just found out her mum had been in a car accident with her DD and she was rushing home and my asking her if she was okay had helped calm her down. Since then I always check on anyone I see crying - you never know when it might help.

I would assume she was upset about something and ask if there was anything I could do to help her (assuming I had time to stop of course).