What advice can we give non-Buddhist friends when we notice that they are hanging on to their disturbing emotions too much?

Lama Ole’s answer:

There is an old Person saying to remember in such situations: “I cried because I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet.” You can remind them that a great many people have it much, much worse than they do. They may not like you afterwards; you might get rid of some difficult people this way. But when things are going better for them, they’ll come back and like you again. Then they might even appreciate your honesty.