Asklemmy

You called her a karen five times in the space of this post. That framing doesn’t help you. You don’t know that she’s an innately unreasonable person, you just know that she’s unreasonable in a specific moment where several people have failed her in a serious matter.

does it really help to simply stay next to my colleague, letting her do the talking while I do nothing but looking at the karen in the eye?

Staying quietly next to your colleague does help your colleague but this sustained eye contact sounds like an escalation. Try to express condolence instead of contempt.

what if, each time the karen opens her mouth I repeat ‘calm down’ ad nauseam till she either tires, shuts up or walks away?

That is an escalation of hostility. Any time you find yourself thinking “maybe this will shut them up”, that’s you looking to defeat an adversary. The goal here is to make her feel better, not even more hopeless.

what do you say or do to support your coworkers while they’re being verbally abused that somewhat defuses the situation?

Redirect. Gently point out that the coworker isn’t to blame for the problem and suggest focusing on how to proceed from here.

what if avoiding conflict is a trait of mine to the point that I let people walk all over me?

how do you resist the urge to walk away? Situations like this trigger my fight or flight response.

All there really is to do is practice.

what if I have to do this with a man and it gets physical? If somebody strikes me and I strike back, and I can guarantee you I’m striking back, I’m as guilty as the first aggressor.

This is one of the reasons it’s nice to have coworkers standing by your side. If it does get violent, a third party can split that up easier than a participant.

Broad strokes, make it clear that you would also prefer that her father get his scheduled treatment.

Frist rule. Acknowledge the problem. Don't tell them to 'calm down,' say something like "yes, you are not getting what you were promised. You have every right to be mad, but getting mad at the staff isn't going to help."

One thing to distract is to ask their name. "Hello, Mrs. Karen, my name is vestmoira. I've been on this job for a while. Let me see what I can do,"

Second, yes, physically and morally stand by the co-worker. "So-and-so isn't the reason this happened, but if we work together we can come up with a solution."

If the woman persisted, it would be time to call for a manager/higher up. That's their job.

Yeah just try to be a good listener, don't judge, don't give any type of advice unless specifically asked, let the person process their emotions in front of you while you observe and acknowledge them. You can rephrase what they say and repeat it back to them to be sure you understand, etc. Everyone gets bent out of shape sometimes and it's ok.

Source: I have no skills myself but I've watched Davie504 on youtube a few times:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjUJ_ud3toM

Making small talk, humor, lying, empathy all work, but here I would suggest blaming something that mutually fucks you over. In this case insurance companies. And learn to lie in ways they couldn't verify, and never offer unnecessary information that would fuck you over. (I.e. DO NOT mention the doctors)

So I would say something like "this is supposed to be a routine procedure, but insuranc3 needs to verify it is necessary. My grandma died from shit like that. Fuck them. I'm going to do everything I can to help you "

ALWAYS learn people's names. Fuck you if you "are bad at learning names" you are just lazy. Try until you can do it, even if you have to ask more than once. People actually appreciate it. Here, it personalizes the bullshit you are slinging and gets the person to believe you

Depending on your workplace, there may be avenues for making complaints. If someone is being rude/unreasonable, it could help to direct them with something like: "I understand this is a difficult situation. We're trying to navigate it and will follow up in (time) at (contact.) If you have complaints about how we've handled this, here is the (name/number/e-mail.)" This redirects their energy and gives them a solid plan to follow. Sometimes people just like it when there's a plan.

Moving location can ease tension. You can say "Hi, I'm (name,) would you like to come over here and explain what's going on?"

If you avoid conflict, it could help to explain those feelings to your coworker and just ask them what you can do to help them (as you have.) Or discuss difficult scenerios they have to deal with and give you clear suggestions on what to do in (x) situation. People like plans, again.

If you work at a hospital and someone is legitimately having a meltdown over something, as in they're being completely irrational and may turn violent, can you call a psych nurse/doc/security?

Alternatively, I knew a security guard who always carried saltwater taffy in his pockets. If people got heated, he would throw it on the ground and go "Look! Candy!" He said it was effective 100% of the time.

Throw a dead cat on the table.