Apply skills of active listening. When your girlfriend is upset and feels comfortable with you, she will likely want to share her feelings with you. Active listening, explains the University of Colorado, requires more effort than ordinary listening. Instead of the more common approach to listening, active listening is accomplished by focusing all of your attention on the person who is upset. After your girlfriend has expressed her feelings to you, the active listening approach is further used in clarifying what she has said. Active listening works to facilitate trust and the ability of someone to be more emotionally open and expressive.

Use a gentle touch through a warm hug or a simple hand on your girlfriend's shoulder while consoling her. Dr. Tiffany Field of The Touch Research Institute explains that skin-to-skin contact has therapeutic value by reducing levels of stress hormones and improving immunity. While none of these might be your intended goal in consoling your girlfriend, they can increase your closeness. Additionally, that seemingly ineffective touch can help your girlfriend withstand stress better in the future. In return, you too can gain psychological and biochemical benefits from using touch as a means of consoling your girlfriend.

Provide emotional support without also attempting to "fix" whatever your girlfriend feels is "broken." Dr. Scott Williams of Wright University explains that despite the best of intentions, offering advice to someone who is upset is actually an insult. He continues by adding that attempting to provide a solution takes the responsibility and autonomy away from your girlfriend, inferring that she isn't capable of creating her own solution or outcome. Even if there is an apparent solution, your girlfriend may not be prepared to implement it and your suggestion can cause her to become emotionally defensive. In the rare instance that in the midst of being upset your girlfriend asks for advice, err on the side of being less concrete and instead, use active listening to help her determine a solution.

Console your girlfriend in a place that is quiet and private when she is upset. Being in the company of other people can cause your girlfriend to feel trapped and even more upset. When you recognize that your girlfriend is feeling strong emotions, take her to an area or room where she can process her feelings privately. If a room or similar space isn't available, consider sitting with her in the privacy of your car. Don't leave your girlfriend alone, however. Even if she doesn't feel like talking, your presence can also provide her with comfort.