Hi, Meg -

I would just like to assure you that you haven't done anything wrong, and there is nothing you could have done to prevent his depression from happening. Nor do you make his problem worse by trying to contact him. But for your sake, as Judy says, be patient and don't keep trying too often - you're the one who gets hurt each time there's no response.

So many people isolate themselves completely when they've got this problem - it's one of the most common effects of depression. The feeling often is that they feel so bad they can't face anyone. Sometimes, you feel like you can't even move and just lie in bed a lot. The people who are closest to someone with depression suffer the  most because the cutoff is so complete.

I hope this works out well for you both.

John