Alright. So another history of depression chiming in here.
Depression since i was preteen, still goes on, but not nearly to the same effect.
Had a lot of suicide attempts. Nothing helped.
Tried therapy, pills, meditation, dancing, music, changing habits, getting out more, and surrounding myself with friends 24/7.
Ended up taking 40 remeron tabs, and 80 depakote tabs. I had said my goodbyes to a few friends who called the cops who came to my house and essentially held me under arrest till an ambulance got to my house and they pumped me/ made me drink activated charcoal for 2 weeks twice a day and put me in a loony ward for 4 weeks, till i was able to convince them of my lie that it was just an accidental overdose by self medicating more than the doc prescribed and that it wouldnt happen again, and that im mostly happy now. ( told them i only took triple the dose, even though they knew depakote levels were 600% higher than they should be.)
Life was never worse. There are few things worse than the loony ward. ( been to jail for a month as well, can confirm, crazy castle is worse)
When i think of what suicide meant to me then, it meant an escape. Now, it means there is a chance i go back there. It was very effective at stopping suicides, albeit not in the way I think they intended.
More than that Hell on Earth. What keeps me going even though im still very much experiencing unmedicated depression ( after 10 different types of drug cocktails, i decided im done) is Goals.
I never was very good at making goals, i would either only be able to think of goals out of my reach, or so insignificant that they didnt help. After all I went through, i was able to recognize what was really important to me. That thing is now my main goal in life. I have a few minor goals that encompass like a month or year each, and then this one lifetime goal. If i die, i cant have what i want, ill never get it. So i have to put up with all of it no matter how bad it is. And that thought alone, that suicide isnt an option, really solidifies itself into a reality.
I guess this thread made me spill a bit more than usual on the topic, but its close to my heart.
Try to help your friend make goals. its hard to do as not the person themselves, but maybe you can help him seed the thoughts. All the stuff i tried, and put near the top of my reply was advised by my therapist. Advise he see one of those ( maybe more if the first one is as much of a piece of shit as my first few were) , and try those things. Hell even testosterone shots have a likelihood of helping with his depression.