Asking For Help: Brian Quinones' Death Prompts Mental Health Conversation

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The people closest to Brian Quinones say he was a humble man who loved spending time with his son.

"People who have the strongest presentation are also people who are the most in need," therapist Kasim Abdur-Razzaq said.

Abdur-Razzaq says he believes men, when in crisis, have a hard time asking for help.

"In our society, the way we socialize our young males is to not ask for help -- matter of fact, we teach them to not even be hurt," Abdur-Razzaq said.

Quinones' family says they reached out and tried to help him, and when they did, he was already going live on Facebook, documenting the last minutes of his life. Abdur-Razzaq says there will be some psychological impact from watching that video.

"We do have to take some protective measure when we are surfing the internet -- when we are on social media, when we are on Instagram -- to actually protect ourselves from these things because to experience this vicarious trauma just by seeing it through some other social median," Abdur-Razzaq said.

He says understanding how you can help someone in crisis in crucial.

"Your job and your responsibility as a loving, supporting family member, friend or community member is to, number one, show compassion and concern and tell people you are concerned," he said.

If you or someone you know needs help, it is available. You can call 1-800-273-8255 or text 741741 any time, day or night. The hotline is answered 24 hours a day, seven days a week.