A lot of life altering things have happened actually.As Pluto moved in to my 8th I met someone and totally believed he was the man I was going to marry. The feeling was mutual (at the time anyway). We moved in together and lived together for three years. In that time, we renovated a house, his father passed away, my dog of 16 years passed away a month later and we both had a ton of really deep and difficult issues present themselves to us. Eventually he broke up with me and I moved out.
I've been through a deep depression as well as a dark night of the soul, which was either extended over time or perhaps happened twice, in three years time.
I guess there's more but some of it is really personal. At the moment, I have a very old cat who I know will not live that much longer. Also, my grandmother is 102 so..... I know there is more on the way.
Basically, Pluto through my 8th has been death in every way death can come to a person. It's been very literal and also very symbolic. So much change and at times I have felt like I just can't take any more of it.
Thankfully, I have a relatively small 8th house so Pluto entered my 8th in 2008 and will leave by 2016. I'm sure by then I won't even recognize my old life because it's definitely a lot of massive transformation. Another good thing is that Pluto was opposite my Sun and Venus at 2&3 Cancer for quite a long time (so that made things more intense) and now it's moved far enough away that I have felt some relief from that aspect.
Right now I'm going through a weird kundalini thing. Trying to learn to go with the flow and not worry too much about what's coming next.
Are you worried for your friend because s/he is depressed? I say that because Pluto brings up a lot of stuff so that we can get rid of what we no longer need, but I find that even if you think you know yourself, you're in for some surprises and it can be challenging.