u/OuchThatEdgeHurts

Apologies in advance if flaired wrong

FOR CONTEXT:

I (19M) have a friend called Richie (26M). I moved into a new city and joined a mutual friend of ours friend group, so I interacted with Richie relatively often in parties, gym sessions and general hangouts.

Here's the thing, every time he drinks, smokes weed, and the most recent endeavor with him (doing acid) he gets simultaneously depressive, anxious, and defensively aggressive.
He talks at length about how he is ugly, fat and stupid. How he's boring, doesn't have a personality or hobbies or drive of his own and his life is going nowhere. When you try to converse with him in these moments he just shoots it down with "yeah but I'm ugly, so nothing matters" or "yeah you're just talking shit so whatever" and it seems pointless.

In a sober state he is similar, but this talk is amplified tenfold whenever he's on something- which is increasingly often. He always makes sure to alert you of this fact as well. Other people have brought this up with him as well, people who know him better mind you, but it's met in a very similar matter where at this point it seems everyone has given up on trying to have these conversations with him.

Should you suggest therapy for instance it's either, "yeah you're probably right. I should really do that"- or the same, "whatever man. Nothing matters, I'm hopeless".
Most of his friends seem to keep him at an arm's length, and it seems he grows more attached to me the more these conversations happen. I'm trying to be supportive, but it's like a brick wall and I understand why people feel the way they do.

Another instance of his demeanor was texting the group chat he was going to drink a bottle of gin and down some oxxys, this was alarming since it sounded like a suicide attempt. He didn't end up doing it and came to the gym with us, but it makes ME wonder if he needs professional intervention since clearly conversation doesn't work.

I'm hyper aware of our age difference, him not so much. I'm typically very fine with listening to friends and their issues, but he is so different that I really want to get involved as little as possible- yet i still feel a semblance of moral obligation to do SOMETHING. Just not sure what.

Should it matter, he has a best friend who I know slightly more- but he is currently going through a breakup of a four-year relationship, so he's been keeping to himself, and it seems inappropriate to harass him about this currently. He's also familiar with how Richie acts and seems to have distanced himself slightly from Richie- but Richie has not picked up on this.
To a degree, that is just external speculation.

TLDR. I (19M) am vaguely friends with (26M) who is insanely depressive, self-deprecating but also shoots down any possible help. What's the best possible course of action?

I’ve come from Rotorua, just curious if welly has a car meet culture here at all or naw