Two of my friends broke up, reasonably amicably. She wants children and he doesn't, and it's finally come down to the crunch and they ended it. So not a horrible wailing and fighting thing, but they've been together years so it's pretty... you know.
Does anyone have advice how I can support especially my one friend I'm closest to (and live closet to, so more able to offer practical support)? They has self-esteem issues which are not solved by telling them they're great, and this is going to make it even worse. I'm honestly worried he's going to go into a downward spiral. But there's only so many times you can tell someone they're a great person (they are!) when they just can't take it in. One wrong move, one bad thing happens and he just feels terrible for ages.
I'm happy being single and don't want a partner so I have trouble understanding I guess what it's like to need that and be afraid it won't happen for you, which is why I'm asking for advice.