Need help supporting a friend

[u/desmondsass]

My friend's little brother just committed suicide yesterday, they're struggling to process the whole thing and keep switching between completely dissociation and denial and feeling guilty saying maybe they could've done something to help. They always feel the need to be strong for everyone else so I offered my house for whenever they feel overwhelmed and need to hide from family and other friends. I don't know how else to help.

They had a fight right before the brother died and now they say they struggle to remember anything good about him like there's a separation between the him before the fight and him after, like it's two different people instead of just the little brother they used to love.

What can I do to support my friend through this?

[u/MountainousComrade]

man that's a heavy one, the two different people thing is something I've seen before, grief does weird stuff to memory like it puts up walls to protect you from the full weight of it all at once

offering your place as a hideout is already huge, sometimes just having somewhere quiet to crash where nobody expects you to talk or perform emotions is exactly what they need, don't underestimate how much that alone matters

if they bring up the fight again you could gently remind them that one argument doesn't erase years of being brothers, maybe bring up a random stupid memory you have of them together like some dumb inside joke or that time they broke something and blamed the dog, stuff that grounds the relationship back in reality

also keep checking in even after the first few weeks when everyone else stops asking, that's when it really sinks in and they'll need someone who isn't tired of hearing about it yet