Very interesting viewpoint on solo traveling, and sorry to hear about your friends. Did the 2 friends who committed suicide travel by themselves? Do you know if they committed suicide while traveling or after coming back?

I wonder what is the rate of depression when coming back from a long solo travel trip due to reverse culture shock and feeling lonely/disconnected from your family and old friends. It is probably hard to figure out whether these kind of long solo trips may cause depression, or whether people who are prone to depression are more likely to want to escape their current situation and take these kind of long solo trips. I've always wanted to do a long solo trip around the world but this is making me think I should really find a friend/partner willing to do it with me.