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EDIT: I am talking about myself. I have a friend, who is really having a hard time of it. I wasn't sure what to say to him, as this incident I'm about to describe was very revealing in lots of bad ways and I don't know how to answer it. Friend walks out and mentions to his mother some trivia about a show she was watching. She asks him not to mention trivia about the show, saying it confuses her. He asked why. She started wringing her hands and practically said she was mentally retarded. He denied she was retarded, and then she started getting all passive-aggressive and sarcastic. He asked her to stop being passive aggressive with her, and she got mad demanding "please be quiet". Then she compared him to her own mother (his grandmother), whom he grew up hearing about how she beat her and abused her and neglected her, and the mother knew that comparison always hurt the son. He gave up and came to me. Now I'm here asking "what the Hell? What do I do? What can I say? Sounds stupid but it clearly hints to a much larger underlying problem. I know he's been considering defooing his mother once he's able to do so financially, but I don't know..." Help me out, anyone wise and impartial about this sort of thing. I'm not an expert. I'm a layman who studies this sort of thing and tries to help himself as best he can, but I don't know how I can handle something so close to home.

Hi everyone, This is my first post. I am in something of a quandary. A month ago I reconnected with a cousin of mine, after eight years of no contact. He turns 18 this year, I am 27. I had nagging guilt about not being more in touch with him over the years. When he was younger he would come stay at my house, but when he was around 10 this stopped. I didn't ask myself why this was, and I feel shame about giving up contact so easily, now looking back. If I can keep this as short as possible, here are the facts: When I finally did reach out, he was in the midst of massive depression. We spoke on the phone for a couple of hours, two days in a row. He told me he had been depressed for a long time, miserable at home, awful relationship with his mom and dad. And he seemed totally lost. He told me he wanted to get help, which he got a few days later. He put his foot down at home and said he needed professional help. So he was voluntarily committed to a psychiatric hospital, for two weeks, where he was treated for depression. I had time to meet him and talk to him, and got a lot of information on what had gone on with him for the past eight years, and what was troubling him at home. Now, this is the thrust of what I'm trying to figure out: I am related to my cousin through his father, they haven't seen each other since my cousin was five. So he grew up with his mom and his stepfather. From what I've gathered, his mom has been grinding his feelings and emotions into dust, and lying to him about why he doesn't get to see his father. I have heard information about why they stopped seeing each other, I believe he deserves to know that information, but I don't know if I should be the one to tell him. His father, my uncle, has expressed wishes of getting back in touch - if he is willing. Does anyone have experience with these sort of delicate matters. How do I get my cousin the information that he deserves to know? Help, please.

My newest video on how people become unmotivated and unaware of their true feelings and interests.

My newest video; an example of a narcissistic father and a narcissistic person in general: http://vimeo.com/selfarcheology/father