When You Don't Want to See Anyone

I have a close friend right now who is in the middle of a deep depression.

He had plans to study abroad this year, but because of COVID, he couldn't go.
He isn't the only one whose plans to go abroad were thwarted, but for him, it was supposed to be an escape from his daily life in Taiwan.
With that gone, it seems he has lost the motivation for everything.

He had talked to me about it a little before, and I knew he was taking antidepressants and that it was a bit tough until he got used to them.
I've taken medication a few times in the past, so I understand that there are some drugs that make you feel unwell at first while your body is still adjusting.
So, I just sent him a LINE message saying, "Let me know if you feel like it; I'll be happy to go for a walk or grab a coffee if you want," and I haven't seen him for about three months.

His other close friends are worried too, of course, and kept inviting him out for meals, but he hasn't come out once during this period.
He is a very kind person, so he does reply saying "I'll go," but a pattern has continued where he cancels the night before.
Everyone kept inviting him, hoping it would be some kind of help.

In the end, I explained the following to those mutual friends:
・When depression is severe, you may not want to see even close friends.
・Or, you don't want to show your "imperfect self" while feeling down from depression, or having gained or lost weight.
・Sometimes you don't want to see friends who are working hard every day and living proper lives.

Eventually, that mutual friend and another person close to him went to see him at his apartment just the two of them.
They told me that going to his house was fine and that they were able to talk normally.

In my experience, when someone is deeply immersed in a state of depression, it is almost impossible for others to help.
Parents are usually the first to fail, and even if it's a partner, it is extremely difficult.
If the partner has never experienced depression, positive invitations like "Let's go out! It'll be a change of pace!" are definitely ineffective, and
there are quite a few cases wherethey fall into deeper depression from the guilt of refusingthem.

He and I are just friends, and we don't contact each other every day, so I don't know 100% what his situation is or what he is thinking about every day.
However, I know from deep conversations we've had before that we share similar depressive tendencies.
That is why I believe this state is somethingonly he himself can overcome

I don't know what will trigger his recovery.
If news of the pandemic ending comes out, that might be encouraging, and if it's confirmed that he can go to the country he wanted to visit next year, he might feel better.
But, that might not happen.

When I spoke with his older sister the other day, I asked her where the only place he can go out to right now is.
So, I plan to meet him there in the near future.
We'll talk about nothing in particular, drink some coffee, and so on.

What I can do now is meet him when he's feeling up to it, and keep in touch with him regularly to keep telling him, "I'm here for you."
I need to make sure he knows that all his friends are by his side, that we are thinking of him, and that we'll wait for him to get better, no matter how long it takes.

If I do that, I believe that when he gets better, we'll be able to laugh together again just like we always did.