Could you help me process this or give some advice? (sorry if it's long)

I'm worried about a friend of mine. I met him a couple years ago, and he's always had a hard time talking about his own problems. We dated and broke up because he was dealing with too much and said he wasn't ready for a real relationship. He could never really connect with me because he'd always pull back before conversations got too serious. He ended up seeing a therapist and finally found one he likes.

What worries me is the symptoms he says he's been having. When we dated, he was already on meds for ADHD, depression, anxiety, and because he could never sleep. All this together was really screwing him up and he kept telling me I met him at a bad time in his life and he wished he couldn't be better to me. When he was feeling ok we'd have a great time together being dumb and having fun, but when he retreated I'd be left to wonder what went wrong.
A few months after we broke up he finally started opening up about other stuff. He told me once the LONG list of things he was scared of as a kid. His mom's an alcoholic, he was kind of bullied as a kid, nothing too abnormal, but still hard stuff to go through.

November he asked if I thought he might have schizophrenia. He had taken some online screening quiz and freaked himself out. He said he didn't remember a lot of things, forgot large chunks of time and remembered them all at once, he'd mumble to himself and have a hard time communicating. He couldn't focus on words well. His uncle also had it, so it was in the back of his mind. He did say that he had never heard voices or anything. All I could really say was to kind of reassure him and recommend he talk to his doctor about it.

Recently his facebook posts and stuff had been pretty gloomy and dark, so I asked if he was alright. His facebook stuff is always a mix of silly internet jokes and articles about all the horrible things happening in the world (politics, war, environmental disasters) and it just seemed more upsetting than usual.

He told me he had been having daily panic attacks lately and hearing loud noises. Still depressed and anxious. He's talked to a doctor about it, but feels like the medication's not helping much and is still trying to find the cause. Over the time I've known him, I've wondered about BPD or even PTSD or something. Honestly, I don't care what he has I just want him to feel better. It really sucks knowing there's nothing I can do to help.

On top of that, I've really missed him since we broke up and know he misses me too. I've seriously thought about getting back together, but it's a "rock and a hard place" situation, because I miss him so much but I know he's in no shape to have a relationship. So I'm not only dealing with worrying about him as a friend, but I guess grieving for myself cause I'm hurting too.

So I guess my question is, do you have any ideas as to what's causing his problems? He very rarely brings it up himself. It's difficult to get into his 'inner circle' I guess, to be a close friend he trusts with this stuff.

Hello, Magnificenttiger. Welcome to Psych Central. I think all you can do is be as supportive a friend as you can while also taking care of yourself and your needs. I hope the therapist will be able to help him feel better soon.

Answering questions on an internet survey is not the way to get a diagnosis. Is he still seeing his therapist? These topics would be more appropriately addressed by a therapist. Your priority should be to take care of you. Encourage him to talk to his therapist. If he is having a hard time with that, suggest that he write it all down and give it to his therapist.