system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Advice from professors or students that have experienced similar?

I am a first year PhD student and this last spring semester has been brutal for me. I had a really hard time due to numerous surprise ‘events’ taking place in my life (family member cancer, death, suicidal friend, the list goes on). I had already been slipping a bit but was able to talk to my professors about it and they have been great. All this to say, around the second week of may I was confronted with my friend’s suicidal thoughts and behavior ramping up again and it completely shook me. I haven’t been able to look at text messages or emails for a month and now I am scared to reach out to my professors again. I don’t even know how to begin. I’m always a bit chaotic (adhd, they also know this) but I feel I’m in too deep with avoidance and I know it is so disrespectful its eating me. I developed anxiety around turning in my work, it’s done, I literally cannot bring myself to  press send. I was present in class all semester minus when I had covid, and have a good relationships with people, but I’ve never felt so stuck it’s so dumb. 

Any thoughts on how I can respectfully approach reaching back out to my professors? Thank you so much.
gpt
I’d say frame for yourself very well with what you would “reach out to them.” You sound overwhelmed, and not really clear in your path. What are you going to ask them? What exactly, and what might they say. Frame the full range of their responses, and assume they are going to give you what you need. When you ask them believe they will give it to you.