Is there a certain age to be successful?

Sounds like she needs a good friend and a new way of thinking of things. It’s all in the details though. I’ve known people who have combatted depression and/or made attempts on their lives. A recent good friend was suicidal and eventually died while speeding on a motorcycle. I guess that’s neither here nor there though. But perhaps since I am known to my friends as a good listener, I hear from their innermost fear and doubt more often than some.

Usually there is a window of opportunity where you can help a person make a truly life altering change in their life which can give them a new outlook or “reason” to go on and be engaged with life. Maybe a therapist of some sort can help with this sort of thing, maybe not. I’ve never seen it help anyone who didn’t also have some other significant support system in place. The only thing I’d say might be worth investigating in this area is anti-depressants since some people’s brain chemistries are just predisposed toward darker tendencies. An above poster suggests exercise and visiting the gym because we are animals and our thinking is affected more so by chemicals than I think most people realise.

From what little I know about this person, I’d suggest focusing your conversation on what they have accomplished despite having little in the way of return. This could be a testament to their will despite a weak family and other community. This in itself is an accomplishment. Maybe her goals in life are shaped by social pressures which aren’t really relevant to the unique life she is leading. It’s hard to say without hearing the way she actually thinks.

Anyways, hope she doesn’t indulge in the final step and maybe the only thing you can really do…let her know you really care, something you can’t pay someone to do.