I don't know what I'd want a friend to say. I'd want my therapist to say that it mattered to him, that it would hurt him if I hurt me. Then I suppose I'd want him to express some understanding of why I feel that way, and an invitation for me to say more about it in words.

But that's me. I'd imagine reasons and best responses vary widely. Even with me, what I want would depend a lot on why I felt that way. If I was hopeless and panicky about something in my life, I suppose I'd appreciate most his pointing out possibilities I hadn't yet seen.