Justin Bieber has been in the spotlight recently, even more so than usual, after sharing a series of emotional posts online. Earlier this week he opened up about his mental health struggles on Instagram, sharing screenshots of private text messages in which he lashed out at a friend about his trauma and underlying anger issues.
“People keep telling me to heal. Don’t you think if I could have fixed myself I would have already? I know I’m broken,” Bieber wrote in one post.
Bieber isn’t the only person who’s taken to social media to process or express emotional pain. Maybe you’ve seen other celebrities, like Britney Spears and Selena Gomez, do the same. Or, perhaps, you’ve witnessed something similar play out with a family member or friend — seeing someone emotionally unravel on social media isn’t uncommon.
As onlookers, it can be tough to know what to do and say when you see someone — be it a celebrity, colleague or friend — post disturbing screenshots, song lyrics or cryptic messages. So we asked two psychologists what’s the best course of action to take with this sort of thing. Here’s what they said:
Here are the signs someone may be in emotional distress.
