He's so unhappy, how can I help?

Question

I've started getting a lot closer to a friend of mine. To cut a long story short, his mother fell ill a while back and it made him mess up school. He got a job but with the responsibility of his mother and the job, he buckled under the pressure and ended up getting told by his doctor to quit otherwise he'd probably have a mental breakdown. He's been unemployed for a while now and he's starting to get really sick of it. He's recovered quite a bit so he's begun looking for jobs again, but no ones interested. He also tried to start up a full time college course, but never heard back from them either. He just feels like everything's going wrong for him at the moment and he's extremely down, he says he feels the same way every day. He seems to spend all his time indoors on his computer, or sleeping. His doctor has recommended anti-depressants, but I really don't feel it's neccessary. I'm starting to get emotionally involved with this guy and he wasn't half as down as this about a month ago, it's just suddenly got worse. Is there anything I can do to help (I know it's not my responsibility, but I want to), or is he gonna have to sort this one out on his own? I'd love to help in any way I can!

Answer 1

Something like that happened to my friend too... So I understand how you feel...

You can ask him to talk to a counsellor , or just drag him out to the beach to have fun... You will need alot of cds and ask him to dance to the music and unleashed all his fustration and make sure he listens to really peaceful music when he sleeps , because I think his troubles have also disturbed his sleep , some peaceful music will make him sleep well.

You can also go for a yoga class with him ( I did that with my friend and FYI she is still doing yoga to clear her mind everytime she got problems)

You all can also go to a railway station that start to scream when the train passes you , I always believed that the train will take away all the pain in my heart.

Answer 2

Any initiative has to come from him. He needs to accept that he's approaching or near clinical depression and want to get help. This is the most difficult hurdle to cross. Get him to a doctor to confirm the diagnosis, and medication is a far easier way to go than therapy etc.

Depression comes from a chemical imbalance in the brain which can be rectified gradually over a period of time, usually months, but during that period, changes take place which allow motivation and self-esteem to increase. Once that begins, then it's more 'downhill' and recovery accelerates. The drugs are not addictive and can be reduced and eventually stopped.

Answer 3

Give him a beautiful smile. Always ask him about his likes, watching comedy movies, listen always when he is talking to you and give all your time with the person to whom you want to help. I hope this will help.