Date him because I Pity him?

I believe honesty is the best policy, so I would stay true to myself, and not date him if I didn't truly have feelings that could carry on. Let him know TELL HIM he is a great person and why! Tell him that he is like your family and family is always there for each other. Family accepts you for who you are. Let him know that! Try and get personal and bond with him, talk about what is bothering him, why, and even about the self-harm. It will only make your relationship stronger, if he is open to it. ♥ Make sure he knows you won't judge :)

You shouldn't go out with someone if you don't like them. Doing it out of pity is even worse. If he ever does ask, just explain to him what you have shared on here; He's like a brother to you. If you two are good friends then I'm sure he will understand. But it's better not going out with him, because going out with someone without feelings for them could hurt more than being rejected. You can't help the feelings you do or don't have, so don't crush yourself over it. =) Just be a good friend to him and make sure he's alright.

if he asks you out, and you don't like him i really think you shouldn't go out with him. stay true to yourself and you won't hurt his feelings as much as if you went out with him through pity. I suggest even if he doesn't ask you out that you tell him why you like him (as a friend). Don't ever get into a relatinship f you feel you are being pressured into it. Believe me it's a bad road and you don't want to go down it.

You shouldn't. It might hurt him even more if he starts expecting. Maybe you can tell his family members if you know them about his condition and urge him to seek professional help too.

Never. He'd feel even worse if he knew you dated him out of pity, you just go right on being his friend and don't let this trouble you.

Docthal, I'm offended by your answer. First of all, do not try to put the whole "friendzone give the nice guy a chance" bullshit because the friendzone does NOT EXIST. I know for a fact I do not like him. That will not change no matter how hard I try, no matter how much I want to feel that way towards him I can't, so don't give me that crap. Secondly, "How many guys REALLY have their eyes on you right now?" ...Excuse me? That is quite possibly the rudest thing I've seen on this site so far. I came here for help, not to be bullshitted by some guy who thinks men deserved to be dated just because they want it.

Have to say, at least personally, one of the worst things is to have a girl so close to you as a great friend and "love you", but not have any actual romantic attraction to you. It's almost like one of the worst kinds of teasing, especially if you like the girl. You know she's amazing. You know she "loves you" and will always be there for you, but you can never have her. ugh, sorry, rant. But like others said, bite the bullet and be honest. Since he can never have you as a companion then tell him sooner than later so he's not guessing anymore. Some pain now is better than a shit ton of pain later.

It's clear that you dont feel the same way, I think it's okay to say yes on one date, but after it's over, tell him how you really feel. But tell him slowly and softly. If he truly loves you, I'm pretty sure he'll understand. Oh, and don't tell him you rejected him because you don't like him, say something like "I like you but not that way. I think you're a great person and I care very much about you. But I don't feel the way about you." Say something nice about him. And try to make it not awkward as possible. You can show him that you care about him by being there for him and maybe make him feel loved, like on his birthday, you buy him something that he likes. By that, he'll try to move on and he doesn't really feel so low.

EASY SOLUTION:
Do you want to kiss him?
if yes, then go out with him. if no, then don't! but you can still be a great friend to him. keep up the good work!
xoxok

From my opinion when it comes to dating put yourself ahead first. Ive dated out of pity for someone and it didn't end good or I wasn't happy myself. I suggest you talk to him and talk things out and it would really help that although you dont want to date him that you still like him as a friend and you see him as family. Something that really helps people who are depressed is someone close to them that will talk to them and help them solve out their problems. Unfortunately sometimes one gets emotionally attached while the other is not interested. Just tell him all his good qualities and how you feel about him. It will boost his self esteem knowing someone is there for him and actually cares. Ive also been in a situation almost like this before. I hope my advice helped (:

Don't go out with him. Yes, he's a nice guy, but that doesn't mean that you have to date him. You don't go out with people just because they treat you as a genuine human being instead of like an object. You're not a vending machine. Nobody can just treat you nicely and get a relationship in return. You alone can decide what to do with yourself.

You don't owe him anything. Yes, he does have depression and other problems, but that in no way entitles him to you. You are not an object. His wants and needs do not in any way need to affect yours.

Besides, you don't need to be in a relationship with someone to be happy. Three year olds are generally very happy, and last I checked, they don't date people. You don't need romance or men to be happy. Your worth and your happiness does not depend on making someone else happy.

If he does kill himself, you need to understand that IT WILL NEVER BE YOUR FAULT. I know he's a good guy, but if he believes rejection means the end of everything for him and that no one loves him, he needs psychiatric help, not a relationship. He isn't emotionally ready for a relationship if he's suicidal.

By the way: especially don't date him out of pity. That's an even greater blow to someone's self esteem. No one wants to be pitied. No one wants to be the second option. For a lot of people, it has to be "I'm always your first choice" or "if I'm not, then we shouldn't be together". No one wants the humiliation of knowing they're not the one who you want and they can't be the one to make you happy. And maybe you won't let him know that, but if you end up dating him, chances are someone else will undoubtedly come around and he'll find out, which will definitely be worse.

Talk with him and explain how you feel, but you need to continually assure him that simply because you don't love in romantically doesn't mean that no one else will. Don't let him try to push you into a relationship and stand your ground, but he also needs to know that just because you don't love him like that doesn't make him incompetent or worthless or somebody no one can love. He seems like a very loveable person; you just don't love him in the way he wants you to love him.

And don't pay attention to anyone who complains about you "friendzoning" him. You haven't "friendzoned" him: HE has girlfriend-zoned you. You were friends before he thought of you romantically; he is the one that put you into a romantic position mentally. Yes, you can still be friends. Yeah, you'll probably need your space for a while, but understand that neither of you are able to control your feelings. You can't "learn" to love somebody. That's ridiculous and sexist. You feel the way you feel, and if you see him as family ... well, something tells me maybe you don't really approve of incest.