Friends and family aren't therapists. They are going to have personal reactions to whatever is shared, not "therapist" objective responses. They are going to have limits because they aren't really trained to deal with mental health issues. They are going to make mistakes because they're just lay persons, not mental health experts. They are going to have their own personal stuff get mixed up in the other person's personal stuff, and that can be a mess.

It is easy to burn out a friend or family member with just too much heavy stuff. Honestly, people have to be careful to save the particularly heavy mental health stuff mostly for the experts, and from the other direction, it's okay to tell someone close to you "I don't know how to help you with that." That is honestly kinder and more truthful than trying to do so much that we get buried under someone else's issues and start feeling responsible for them, or we make definite errors in what we say or do (with the greatest of intentions) because we really are in over our head.

Teaching has taught me to have boundaries. Teenagers can latch on really quickly to teachers who try to be a "friend" or "counselor" to them, and it really can become a disaster. It's taught me I can listen to a point, but there comes that point when my response becomes, "Why don't we go to your counselor and you can speak to him/her about this? I'm really not quite equipped to help you with this." It's the kindest and most honest thing I can do in those instances. You can do that with friends and family also. There is a point when you have to know "this is just too big."

As a parent, I've been in some pretty serious discussions with my kids (more than I ever have with any other friends). Even there, the point came when I knew I needed to help them seek more professional help. I knew what I "could" do, and I also knew what was beyond even my ability as a parent (which is probably much more than you would run into with a friend). We ALL have limits, in ability and/or in capacity.

If a friend is asking too much, as a good friend you let them know. People have their own personal limitations, and we have to respect their personal boundaries about what they are willing to hear, to do, to help with. It doesn't necessarily mean they don't care. They have their own reasons for their own limitations. It's important (and very difficult) to not take their boundaries as a rejection, but that is what we have to learn to do to maintain healthy relationships long-term.