what can a person do about depression when they cannot afford medical treatment.

[hollysmom]

1. as a chronically depressed person (but still an optomist)

If he is an alcoholic, the best thing he could do is go to an AA meeting. My ex was an alcoholic but was never so happy as when he attended AA meetings- years later he was ashamed and stopped going and became problematic again.

being out in the sun exercising also helps,spring is here, so that should be an improvement.
Get a dog, if he can't afford a dog, volunteer to walk a dog at a shelter, it helps a lot of people, those shelter dogs are so grateful to the walkers, makes your heart sing.

Right now, I am in the situation of sleeping a lot and have injuries so can't walk my own dog, but it turns out my sleeping a lot is medical, My thyroid is crashing and I need to go onto medication.

Should your brother see a doctor who wants to put him on medication, you can look up the cheapest place to get your medication - a friend of mine had her son on an anti-depressant and it cost $200 a month, Checked on line and found costco had it for under $20. There are the priced can range over a large margin and Costco is not the cheapest on every thing.

Good luck, wish I could help my youngest brother, but he is still in denial.