If someone is totally distraught and shut down, asking their phone number/address/ssn/birthdate can pull them out of the emotional place and bring them back to a headspace where they can talk about what happened more easily. I often ask these questions even after I have the information just to deescalate.
如果某人忧心忡忡或者感到压抑，问他们的电话号码、地址、SSN或者生日，这样可以把他们从情绪中拉出来，让他们有更多的精力去更容易地讨论发生了什么。甚至在需要处理信息时，我也经常问自己这些问题。
distraught ：adj. 忧心如焚的；心神错乱的；几乎发狂的
eg. Weeks after the accident she remained distraught.
shut down：压抑。
Avoid shutting down or growing frustrated.
headspace：脑容量，精力
Often, we work so hard in the day, that we're knocked at the end of the day, or we don't have the headspace to start thinking about other things.