Do you think it is always conceited to try to save or only when it is based on an assumption of the need for saving?
I could understand this feeling about certain situations where it is assumed by one party that the other needs help, but not so much when the person admits they need help. An admission of a problem isn't the same as wanting to solve it, but I wouldn't find it conceited to try to "save" a person from something that is an acknowledged issue.
That is an interest question. What I try to do is, if someone
tells me about his or her problem without asking for help, I empathize.
Nowadays, I really follow pretty strictly the only-help-or-give-advice-when-asked rule.
If someone simply tells me about their problems, I`ll likely be fishing for similar challenges in my life, and tell them about mine. Without offering solutions. Or, if I don`t feel close enough to the person to open up, I`ll simply say, "I`m sorry."
That being said, I`ve been guilty of passively-aggressively asking for help by complaining about my life. I`ve been trying to avoid doing that since I became aware of that pattern.
I`ve also been trying to avoid complaining "in public", so to speak. I keep my problems to myself, unless I specifically ask someone (presumably, someone I trust) if I can open up. In that case, I`m not looking for solutions, only empathy.
Likewise, when I actually need help, I try to ask for help directly. That seems to me like adhering to proper interpersonal boundaries.