At midnight on a Saturday, our 17-year-old knocked on our bedroom door. She came in to say they had a friend who her and her friend group were worried about. The friend had told them in a group chat that they wanted to hurt themselves and then went quiet.
While some of the kids tried to reach out to the friend, our teen went on the suicide prevention website to find out what else they could do. The hotline person told them to call the police to let them know what was going on and do a wellness check and to also talk to us about what was happening.
We could not have been prouder in that moment.
Not only were our teen and their friend group working together to take care of and watch out for a friend, she came to us to let us know what was going on. She didn’t have to carry this burden by herself.
We made sure to let our teen know they made the right call. Anytime someone says they want to hurt themselves; it is a cry for help. They might not have a plan of action, but they were hurting. Something was wrong.
How is it though that our teens are having to deal with this?
- According to the CDC, suicide is the second-leading cause of death for teens and young adults, ages 10-34 (2022).
- 18.8% of high school students reported having seriously considered suicide in the past year. This percentage is higher among females (24.1%), and lesbian, gay, or bisexual teens (46.8%) (CDC, 2020)
I should be glad that my teen knew where to turn to for help and that places exist, but it breaks a mom’s heart none the less.
Yes, the police did go to the friend’s house and do a wellness check. Apparently, the friend went silent because they were working on a history project. Regardless – my teen and their friends did the right thing. I would want their friends to do that for her.
