6 Lessons from the Death of Chester Bennington

4) Be a Shoulder to Lean On (and a Be a Safe Space)

Many of our friends are going through some extremely difficult times in their lives and are not able to verbalize it to their families. Instead of asking “what’s up?” to a friend truly ask them how they’re doing. Nine times out of 10 they’ll probably open up and truly tell you what’s going on in their lives. Sometimes just being someone who listens and shows empathy can be a source of healing for them.  Listen with empathy and allow your friend to vent and listen with a non-judgmental attitude.

Also, identify behaviors out of the ordinary with your friends if they fall off the map or isolate themselves or lose contact with you or look depressed or down or consistently have a lack of energy or have enormous amount of stress or lose their interest in things they used to love or other out of the ordinary behaviors. Always be a supportive friend and ensure those you love and care about you have you as a shoulder to lean on and someone they can turn to for help.