I think some people just can't handle being told such devastating (for them) news. It's not to criticize you by the way. It's desperately lonely being suicidal. He clearly gave you signs that you could tell him anything.
I guess it might be a kind of selfish defence mechanism. When we make it apparent that we might leave someone- or, might put ourselves in a horribly dangerous scenario- I don't know- maybe they flip! I guess most people have a natural instinct to want to protect, help and even 'save' their friends. Maybe when it becomes apparent we may just act on our own and effectively abandon them and disregard what they feel about us- maybe that's just crushing and they can't take it.
It's a different scenario but with a very good friend of mine- when they told me they were moving, I found it hard to cope with. Like OF COURSE- I didn't really want to stop them. I knew it was going to be good for them to move on with their life. But selfishly- it hurt. I'd been there so much for them. It's embarassing to admit and terribly immature- but I started to distance myself from them before they left- to kind of protect myself- get myself used to the idea they wouldn't be there anymore. Perhaps what your friend is doing is similar- trying to protect himself... I could be wrong and projecting of course...
