So lately a friend of mine has been kinda burned out on life. He worked pretty much all through the summer and never got any time to really relax. It's my theory that this is why he's acting the way he is -- saying the things he's saying. I've been trying to help him out, and he's been fairly open with me about what he thinks his problems are, but they mostly seem to come back to what the point of living is, why anyone even bothers with anything. He's also talked about how he "wouldn't mind" death. I'm not worried that he's suicidal, or that he's even thinking of harming himself. But he said that if someone had a gun to his head, he wouldn't care if he got shot. He's also a little discouraged when it comes to dating because he got rejected by a girl recently and he's said alot of stuff along the lines of "I'm going to die alone." I know he's not a bad looking guy and I've told him repeatedly to get back on that horse, but he doesn't even see the point in that. I've already told him what I think, that he's burned out because he never actually got time to rest, but I'm looking for an outsider's perspective. What kind of advice can I give him, and how can I convince him that there is a point to life?
Show him that his life is worth living because hes your friend and you want to keep it that way. take him out. have fun. do whatever it is you guys like to do. go to a ballgame or a movie or whatever. get his mind off of as much shit as you can. you obviously have no control over the lady department. Tell him you care about him and his friendship. I think he just needs to know someone cares. - Johnny
It sounds like your friend is grappling with depression. One of the main symptoms is that "what's the point" feeling that he's mentioning, and the "it'd be OK if I died now" is another symptom. It doesn't appear to be too deep, since he's still functioning and able to chat about other things. That said, depression can take quite a bit of time to lift on its own. First off, you're doing the most important thing - you're making yourself available. As Chef suggested, do offer to do some fun things with him to help give him a break from those negative thoughts. If you sense him slipping a bit further in, you might mention that you think he might be suffering from depression, and perhaps suggest he talk to somebody about it. I'd be happy to talk to him if you think he'd be up for it. Lex
