How do you respond when someone shares something very personal and difficult with you?

"Dude, that's rough" might roll off the tongue, or perhaps you're the type of person who launches into an unsolicited advice column anytime someone confides in you. Neither of these is necessarily bad—showing empathy by confirming the speaker's feelings might make them feel sane and less alone, and trying to guide them toward the right course of action demonstrates an investment in their well-being.

But in the relationship workshops and skill-building programs she teaches, family and marriage therapist Linda Carroll tells me she often instructs listeners to always respond with "thank you" first and foremost. "Saying 'thank you' is a way of expressing your true appreciation that they are sharing what is important to them with you," she tells me. "Appreciating them for showing you what is really going on inside is a great way to encourage them to continue."

When you thank someone for sharing their struggles with you, it acknowledges the leap they've just taken and validates their decision to open up to you. It's not easy to be vulnerable, Carroll explains, and that thank you signals not only that they're safe but that their display of vulnerability means something to you.

There's so much to be grateful for when someone makes the choice to show you a private part of themselves: You get the opportunity to bear witness to someone's inner world, they've trusted you with that information, and this process of sharing is both an indicator of the strength of your relationship and something that has the potential to make it stronger.

If there's one thing to take away from The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, and all its other various iterations, it's that vulnerability is something to be cherished and met with gratitude. This isn't to say I think every contestant says their "thank yous" with authenticity (many don't, and frankly many leverage their sob stories for Brownie points—don't be like those people!), but the habit itself is one to emulate.

Especially within a relationship, saying "thank you" in response to your partner's emotional openness is a great way to encourage them to feel comfortable sharing with you more and more in the future and a way to directly assign value to the intimacy they're creating by doing it.