Hi there, 

Reaching out because I don't know how to help my friend. He's been seriously depressed for over a year now, after his divorce. He has kids and lives in Canada (from NJ originally) and has no family/friends near him. We text every day and he is often talking about how miserable he is, how he's living a nightmare, how he feels everyone hates him, how he can never be in a romantic relationship again; he was openly considering suicide in the fall (he's since claimed he's sworn off the thought). It's hard to gauge what's real or have a serious conversation with him though because he has a very absurd/sarcastic sense of humor. We see each other in person about twice a year and the past few times he's broken down crying/had a panic attack. 

He is very distraught about his divorce and his brother dying about 10 years ago; he's a former EMT and has had problems with anxiety and alcohol and overeating (he is extremely overweight). I'm not sure about his medication situation but he refuses to see a mental health professional; he says went to one around the time his brother died and she told him that nobody could help him. 

I don't know what to do at this point, I'm basically his daily psychiatrist and I'm in no way qualified to give him advice, I don't know what to say to him. I reached out to one of our mutual friends from high school and he doesn't know what to do either. I want to reach out to his parents but don't want to alarm them/don't know how to go about it. They are probably aware to some extent but I don't know... 

He knows my reddit username so if you're reading this, sorry I just don't know what else to do. Looking for any guidance on how to get him help, thanks.