"Yeah, from my point of view, I just want my friend to be okay. I think anyone that knows Ben he always puts other people in front of himself and I think now is an opportunity for him to put himself first...
"...to take time to look after himself and get himself into a good place again and hopefully that can be sooner rather than later. I think cricket has to be a secondary thought.
"And he should take as much time as he needs and he has got full support of the ECB and certainly the whole team is supporting him so more than anything, we just want Ben to be okay," said Root, adding that it was hard for him to see his friend in this state of mind.
While no one can replace a player of Stokes' calibre, Root is confident that youngsters like Sam Curran will rise to the occasion, like he did in the 2018 home series against India.
"In my opinion, there's no one that compares Ben Stokes and so obviously for a long time now he has very much been the heartbeat of this team.
"But with (Ben out), present opportunities for the guys to step up to the plate and we've seen in the past guys been able to do that without Ben. The likes of Sam Curran including the last series against India and more recently against Pakistan at Old Trafford, that partnership between Jos and Woakes.
"So we have found ways to win without Ben (his contribution), and this is another opportunity to do that," said Root ahead of the five-match series, marking the beginning of the second World Test Championship cycle.
England have a busy Test schedule lined up over the next six months with five games against India and as many against Australia in an away Ashes series.
With cricket continuing to be played in bio-bubbles, there is a possibility that more players like Stokes will be forced to take time off the game to live a "normal" life.
Root is also not ruling that out.
"I think that's why it's important that we continue to keep talking especially whilst we're in safe living environments. There's good honest conversations between the players and ECB so that players can be looked after as best as possible.
"On the scheduling, and that's way off my roof. We've tried as best as we can over the last year to look after the players in terms of resting, rotating, giving guys the opportunity to get out of very difficult environments, so that they can be as fresh for as long as possible.