“Leave me alone!”

“I know what I'm doing.”

“I can handle this on my own.”

“I don't need your help.”

How many times have you heard these words from your child and wondered if you should give them space, respect their privacy, or intervene to help them avoid a crisis they may be unprepared to cope with on their own.

Crises may include poor performance in school or at work, excessive alcohol or drug use, trouble in relationships with others, or perhaps a brush with the law.

When your child's life seems unstable or even teetering on the brink of disaster, consider that a root cause may be depression or other mental illnesses. And know that if left untreated, mental illness can impact your child's ability to reason, making contemplating or attempting suicide a way to end his or her pain.

Not my child

It is horrific to consider that your son or daughter could think of harming him or herself. Parents often think “he would never do that” or “he could never hurt me like this” or “things simply can't be that bad.”

A very serious illness

We hear so much these days about depression that it is tempting to dismiss it as not being all that serious, and certainly not life-threatening.

But consider the fact that when someone dies by suicide, clinical depression is oftentimes present.   Depression is present in over two-thirds of the 30,000 reported suicides in the U.S. each year (White House Conference on Mental Health, 1999).   Additionally, untreated depression is the number one risk for suicide among youth (American Association of Suicidology, 1996).

Taking action and helping your child

Just as parents observe their children for the presence of a physical illness, so too they must be watchful for signs of mental illness, no matter how challenging and frightening this may be.