Hi. I'm glad you found us. It does sound like your brother is depressed. Unfortunately I'm not familiar with your health system there. Do you have a suicide hotline? Even if no one is suicidal, they may have the name of a therapist in the area. Another source would be to call your physician and ask for the name of a therapist. I would think they would know of one or two. Going by the phone book or on line won't get you anywhere if the therapists don't tend to advertize. There is also a group online called the Samaritans that deal with depression, suicide or any problem. They are all volunteers, but they too may know of someone in your area that can help.

If your brother is having trouble with his studies, it may be secondary to his depression. Its hard to concentrate when you are depressed, and your self esteem suffers. He may not be able to concentrate right now. Once he starts getting lower grades, it probably worsens his self esteem and increases the fear of the next test. His thoughts are certainly not normal as far as the frequency. I'm sure we have all thought about the futility of life at one time or another, but if this is a constant obsession, there is something wrong and you are right to step in and try to find some help for him. 21 is way too young to be thinking about dying.

Finding a therapist that is a good match can be frustrating. Just as not everyone you meet becomes your friend, not every therapist you go to is going to be the right one. Your brother needs to find one that he is comfortable with. Therapists really aren't there to give answers so much as to guide the patient towards finding his own answers and getting to the bottom of what is bothering him. Sometimes short term medications are warranted in the beginning. If that is the case, he will need to either work with a psychiatrist, or a psychologist and his physician so he can get scripts for medication.

I hope that helped some. I'm sure you will get some more replies, and maybe someone more knowledgeble about health care in your part of the world will see your post.

Sam2