Yeah, blindness kinda sucks, but if he manages to outlive that grief he will eventually get used to it being bad and accept. That's, at least, what happened with me. The only reason why I didn't kill myself during my first 5 years of blindness was because I realized that my chances of ending it safely were also severely reduced and I didn't want to live with even more disabilities. My life hasn't improved the slightest since then, and I'm a shadow of what I once was, but since I've got used to shit being the new normal I guess I can make do with it. Fortunately my main occupation before going blind is still doable to some extent like this so I didn't have to dramatically change my life, but honestly I'm ashamed of my current performance.

If I had the chance of going 10 years back I would take it in a heartbeat and do whatever I could to prevent my glaucoma from progressing, because I absolutely loved my life back then and do feel that I went blind due to negligence, both mine for not doing my homework and my physicians for not warning me about the fact that they lacked equipment to do a proper diagnosis when I started telling them that my vision was dimming and losing contrast. The hardest part about being blind for me is knowing that there's a chance that I'll be blind for the rest of my life and will never be able to fully immerse myself in sensory experiences again.

Is he linked in with any associations for the blind? I know in Ireland there is Insight counselling, in northern Ireland and Scotland there is something similar though the rnib.

Some of these groups offer peer to peer and professional counselling.

One of the more things he might be struggling with could be that no one in his life understands what he's going through and I imagine in most cases this is a correct belief. At least if he can talk to someone who really truly understands him it could help

He is going throught the grief cycle. Same as losing a loved one. I think that what you are talking about is called para-suicidal behavior; doing risky stuff because death isn't a deterrent.
Sounds like grief and depression. You can see if you can encourage him to see his doctor or a mental health specialist. If he states active suicidal plans you can have him involuntarily hospitalized but they won't hold him for long in most US states.

Get him a guitar.

So I'm losing my sight as well. I deal with this grief daily. My advise would depend on the country/state he is in as different resources exist in different places but ultimately comes down to the fact I'm also losing my ability to be part of the world, and I have the same fear that soon after I lose all of my sight I will be a social outcast and not be able to really be accepted or loved or wanted by the rest of the world. Maybe after you get him a guitar, you should send him here so at least he knows he is not alone.

Understandable but many blind folk around who live fulfilling meaningful lives. Sounds like he thinks he can’t do it (he’s afraid of the future).

I definitely think this will take time and someone to talk it through with. Also a lot of introspection may help him or talking to him about the ways he cope, what his strengths are in going through this and where are his weak points may be helpful.

Spend time with him if you can (try and make time even if it’s difficult). While the other suggestion of a guitar is nice, I don’t think it’ll help yet as he’s lacking motivation. Going blind is really an identity crisis, especially if you don’t have a spouse/kids. Spending time with friends helps with that. A support group might help. He might not be willing to go to one but there’s a Discord channel called The Blind Spot he can join if he’s not already a member. You could also try going to the gym together (rep out some stress or relax in the pool/hot tub if nothing else). Make him feel useful/needed by getting him involved in some community volunteerism (food bank, etc).

You’re an incredible friend for trying to help. I mean that.

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