Recently broke up with bf (less than a week), been dating for over a year.. which was a very sudden turn of events for the both of us as we were very happy together. It first started with a talk I initiated as I felt a bit neglected this month(during the week but never when we were physically together).. and suddenly he realised he didn’t love me as much as he should after a year after I brought up the fact that he seemed to feel quite emotionally withdrawn for most things. The reason for this breakup is for him to work on himself (as he said he can’t do it when he’s in a relationship) and see if its our chemistry or his illness that made him feel this way, and the old ‘you deserve better’. We both cried like crazy when we broke up(he cried cuz I cried).. which sort of shows how much he cares. We promised we would stay in each others lives.

He suffered from depression due to his first gf and was on medication after 5 years of quietly suffering. However, he was just prescribed antidepressants, no regular therapy or anything (UK system…), and he also refused to go to a counsellor of any sort. He voluntarily (not dr advice) stopped taking his meds around 6 months ago (October) as he said he felt better.

When we were together it was without a doubt the best relationship we ever had, he smothered me with affection and love, always thoughtful and kind, and we barely had any arguments. He even told me I was most helpful when he was going through depression by being nice and kind to him. I never ever felt any sort of negative energy when I was with him, he was always calm and quiet and rarely shared his thoughts.. and I thought then I was just being a girly girl for wanting to share feelings.. but now I feel something’s off there.

My questions are –
is it possible for someone to recover from depression yet feel emotionally withdrawn?
what should I do to help him in this case (as his family and most friends don’t know he suffers from it at all)?
he said he feels fine and will start his meds whenever he feels bad again, yet till now he still suffers from extremely bad memory- is this a sign that his depression has not recovered?
He was always very physically affectionate towards me (hugs and cuddles all the time) and yet by the end he told me it was not love, but more about comfort.. how is that even possible for someone to feel this way?

sorry for such a long post, but I am just extremely confused.. and worried. and thanks in advance for your reply 🙂