My wife tells me this all the time, and I still screw it up all the time, because it's easier said then done, but here it is anyway. When she's talking to you, you have a natural desire to do what's good for her in that moment, and that's great, but that's not what SHE needs from you in that moment. She doesn't want you to try to fix the problem. She wants you to shut up, listen to her kevetch, and then maybe hug her and say "I'm sorry you're hurting."
It still doesn't make any sense to me. But I believe it's true.
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We are not so different from potted plants in that, if given everything we need to be properly nourished, the outcome can be incredibly contrary to when we are not. A flower won't grow in flour, and neither can we.