How to Help Someone who is Mentally Broken

Inquire the Person's Situation

We are not professionals, we should be wary of giving advices; the best thing that we can do for them is to act as some sort of stress ball for them, and we can do that by asking questions like "What happened" or "How did this happen?".

This will not only give them a chance to unload their frustrations and worries, but also gives us insight on what happened or what the situation is.

Don't Criticize the Person

Regardless if the situation is of their own doing or not, do not blame the situation on them. Criticism will only make them defensive and makes them want to justify their actions.

Encourage the Person to seek Professional Help

This is a no-brainer. Once you feel like the person is open to influence, suggest seeking advice from professional help.

Inform the Person's Close Family Members about the Situation

Informing the person's family members provides two risks:

• The person will feel betrayed and be closed-up to you from now on
• Involving the person's family members may worsen the situation

Possible benefits for informing the person's family members:

• Additional emotional and practical support
• The person will feel less alone, which may help his mental well-being

This should be done as a last resort if you don't know what else to do.

THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND

You don't owe the person anything

There is a limit to how much we can give our time and energy to others; there is nothing wrong with stepping back and prioritizing your own problems.

Do not give unsolicited advice

Most of the time, people just want to feel like they are being heard; they just want to be listened to, not advised or be provided with a solution to their problems.

This is because the solutions tend to be simple in nature; they are not stupid; they know what needs to be done; they just need someone to unwind their frustrations and worries first before they can go back to thinking rationally.