Open Question: What’s a non rude or non hurtful way suggest to a friend that they need help?
I have a female friend that is a nice girl but at times she can behave so erratically. She says stuff sometimes that makes no sense or has "solutions" to problems that are just not logical. For example, my mother is having work done in her house so things are a little out of sorts downstairs. She comes in and starts picking stuff apart verbally. "What is she going to do with this sheetrock" "When is she going to fix this and that?" basically complaining about things. I explained to her it's a financial thing and she can't do it all right this moment. Most people would have dropped it and or apologized yet she kept going on about it and I actually felt insulted. Then she goes on to tell me how she's going to talk to my mom about it herself. Another example, she and her husband are having problems when she goes out and does what she wants to do, she won't call him or won't be bothered with him. Yet for some reason when it's time to go back home from wherever she was at, suddenly she wants to call him and yell at him about how he doesn't spend any time with her and starts screaming and crying and fighting with him over the phone.
Last month she had a party and after the party she was supposed to take me home (so she said she would). I had left my keys at home so I had to call a relative to let me in and it was late so I didn't want to keep the relative up so my friend KNEW I had to be straight home I also had to be to work early in the morning. The next thing I know, we're pulling up to where she sees her husbands car she jumps out starts screaming and running up to this girl's that she accuses him of cheating with house. She was hitting her husband, cursing, running up and down the street just acting crazy, it was a mess and NO she wasn't drunk! I ended up having to sleep at her family member's house and I was late for work. When I told my mom what happened she was so mad and she said "What if that girl(the one whose house we pulled up to) came out swing fist or a knife" I agree with her completely because I was just there, I didn't go there to fight. I was very angry because I was lied to and put in the middle of something that I didn't ask to be a part of I was put in a situation with total disregard to my feelings and safety. I don't want to cut her off completely I’m trying to be a good friend but I don't want to be put in another situation like that again I don’t think that’s fair to me. As I stated above she has said things that make me say "Hmmm" but I have never seen her act that bad.
I need to know the best way to tell my friend "Hey, you need counseling" because I know people can get offended when you tell them that. Also, I'm no doctor but I think she needs some sort of medication too. I just don’t know what to do :(