When Support Isn’t Human – AI, Mental Health, and the Power of Human Connection
- Brainz Magazine
- Aug 25
- 6 min read
Updated: Aug 26
Dr. Charryse Johnson is an author, speaker, and mental health consultant whose work focuses on the intersection of integrative wellness, neuroscience, and mental health.
In recent headlines, we were confronted with the tragic loss of Sophie, a 29-year-old woman who died by suicide after reportedly engaging in therapy-like interactions through ChatGPT. According to a New York Times article, Sophie had turned to AI for mental health support, a choice that may have provided convenience and comfort, but ultimately lacked the depth, nuance, and human responsiveness required in moments of psychological crisis.
Sophie’s story is not an isolated one. It reflects a growing intersection between technology and mental health, a space filled with potential, but also with peril. As a therapist and mental fitness coach, I believe it’s imperative to unpack what we can learn from this moment, explore the ethical boundaries of AI in mental health, and illuminate the irreplaceable value of human support in emotional healing.
The promise and limits of AI in mental health support
AI platforms like ChatGPT offer accessibility, immediacy, and anonymity. They can be a lifeline for individuals in remote areas, those facing financial barriers, or people hesitant to reach out due to shame or stigma. Used well, ChatGPT can:
Suggest local, qualified mental health professionals
Offer psychoeducational content
Provide grounding techniques or reflective prompts
Help individuals clarify what they’re experiencing
Yet even with these strengths, AI cannot and should not be considered a substitute for licensed, relational mental health care. It lacks the ability to interpret tone, read between the lines, or offer embodied presence, essential elements when someone is in distress.
Therapy is not just about words. It’s about what’s unsaid. It’s about body language, microexpressions, energetic shifts, and emotional nuance, elements that are imperceptible to even the most advanced machine.
The fine line of disclosure and interpretation
Sophie may have disclosed feelings of hopelessness or suicidal ideation. But AI, bound by algorithms, lacks the experiential judgment needed to determine risk and respond appropriately. What might appear to a machine as sadness could, to a seasoned clinician, signal acute distress or trauma. This is the fine line, the line between life and death, and it must be navigated by trained, empathetic humans.
Real therapy listens with more than ears. It listens with instinct, emotion, and presence. A skilled therapist can ask the question beneath the question, sense disconnection through a pause, and, most importantly, act when danger is near.
The healing science of co-regulation
Sophie’s story highlights a critical principle in trauma recovery and mental health: co-regulation.
From a neuroscience perspective, co-regulation refers to the biological process of calming our nervous system through connection with another person. Human beings are wired for connection; our brains and bodies sync with those around us. In times of distress, we need to feel seen, safe, and soothed, a process that cannot happen in isolation or through text alone.
AI cannot co-regulate. It does not breathe, emote, or extend compassion. It cannot sit in silence with you, hold space for your pain, or bear witness to your story in a way that brings healing. Healing is relational.
When asking for help feels like a weakness
There’s a dangerous narrative, especially among high-achievers, caregivers, and those in survival mode, that needing help is a sign of failure. But the truth is, seeking support is not weakness; it’s wisdom.
In my practice, I often remind clients:
“Insight is powerful. But it is presence, the attuned, regulated presence of another, that turns insight into transformation.”
You are not meant to carry the emotional weight of your life alone. We all need mirrors for our minds. We all need witnesses for our pain. Strength is knowing when your strategies are no longer working and being brave enough to try something different. Asking for support is a brave act of self-care. Keep asking until you are met with the same level of support you so freely give to others.
What happens in the brain when we’re hurting?
When we experience emotional pain, our brain registers it similarly to physical pain. The limbic system, the brain’s emotional center, activates the same regions that light up when we are physically wounded.
In prolonged distress or trauma, our nervous system becomes dysregulated, stuck in a cycle of hypervigilance or emotional shutdown. Hypervigilance occurs when our natural fight-or-flight instinct goes into overdrive.
AI can’t help you regulate a nervous system. It can’t notice your shaky breath or offer a compassionate tone.
Only human connection can provide the relational safety needed to downshift out of survival mode and return the brain to a place of integration and calm. Therapists can often sense when someone is hurting in ways that go far beyond the words being spoken. While AI can analyze language patterns, a trained human therapist integrates neuroception, intuition, relational attunement, and embodied awareness in ways that technology can’t replicate.
For those who feel alone: Tangible tools & support
If you’re reading this and find yourself in a mental or emotional spiral, know this: you are not alone, and you don’t have to navigate your pain in isolation. Here are a few tangible tools:
1. Reach out to a human
Crisis help: Call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 (U.S.). You will be connected to a trained crisis counselor.
Find a Therapist:
2. Use AI for supplement, not substitution
ChatGPT can help you:
Draft a message to a therapist
Explore feelings you don’t yet have words for
Reflect on patterns or behaviors
Create a list of questions to bring to a session
But it is not therapy, and it cannot replace the dynamic, life-giving relationship of working with someone trained to walk with you through emotional pain.
3. Create a support system
You don’t need 10 people; you need one or two who genuinely care. Let someone know you’re struggling. If speaking is too hard, send a text:
“Hey, I’m not okay right now. Can you sit with me or check in later?”
4. Practice grounding through co-regulation
If you can’t talk to someone in the moment, co-regulate in other ways:
Listen to a calming voice (a meditation app, a podcast with a warm tone)
Hold a weighted object or pet an animal
Use temperature (cold water, a warm blanket) to help your body reorient
And when you’re ready, let someone see you.
Self-check: Is it time to reach out?
Ask yourself:
Am I isolating more than usual?
Do I feel emotionally flat, even during moments that should bring joy?
Have I had thoughts of self-harm, disappearing, or feeling like a burden?
Have I stopped doing things that once gave me purpose?
Am I telling myself that no one would understand, or that I shouldn’t feel this way?
If you answered “yes” to two or more, it’s time to reach out. You deserve to be heard by someone who is trained to walk with you through the fog.
A therapist’s heartfelt reminder
As a therapist, I’ve sat with hundreds of people on the edge of their breaking point. I’ve witnessed what’s possible when someone is met with empathy instead of algorithms. In Sophie’s story, we mourn not just her loss, but also the silence she endured. We grieve the moments she needed to be heard by someone who could look her in the eyes, through a screen or in person, and say:
“You matter. I’m here. Let’s find a way through this.”
I see so many people who believe their emotions are a burden. Who have been taught, explicitly or through experience, that needing support makes them “too much.” Over time, that belief becomes internalized, increasing the temptation to suffer quietly, to disappear, or to numb what hurts.
But here’s the truth: your needs are not too much, they are simply unmet. You don’t need to shrink to be loved or struggle in silence to be strong. There is space for all of you, the messy, the magnificent, the uncertain, the overwhelmed.
You deserve to be supported, not sorted by a machine. You deserve presence, not just processing power.
From the philosophies of my work, I often remind clients:
“You are not a reflection of your past, you are a revision in progress. And every intentional step forward rewrites what’s possible.” – Dr. Charryse Johnson
A final ritual for those in pain
If you’re hurting, pause for one breath.
Place your hand on your heart.
Say aloud:
“This pain is real. But it will not last forever. I deserve help, not silence.”
Then, reach. Send the text. Make the call. Let someone meet you where you are.
If you or someone you know is struggling, contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988. Help is available 24/7. You are not alone.
Dr. Charryse Johnson, Expert Mental Health Consultant
Dr. Charryse Johnson is an author, speaker, and mental health consultant whose work focuses on the intersection of integrative wellness, neuroscience, and mental health. She is the founder of Jade Integrative Counseling and Wellness, an integrative therapy practice where personal values, the search for meaning, and the power of choice are the central focus. Dr.Johnson works with clients and organizations across the nation and has an extensive background and training in education, crisis and trauma, neuroscience, and identity development.
