My 14 year old has recently shared with me that an old year 6 friend has recently struggled with mental health, self harm and a suicide attempt which landed her in hospital. They attend the same high school, had drifted apart in year 7 but remained fond of one another. The friend reached out to my daughter sharing her story to which my daughter was shocked but assured her that she would be available if the friend needed her (we have also talked about the need for my daughter to encourage her friend to get professional support and recognise her limits etc).
Now my question is regarding the mum. Whilst we were never very close we certainly have been friendly, happy to see each other and chat if we happened to be at an event or performance. Should I reach out to the mum with a message of support? If you have been the mum with a suicidal child what would be the right thing here?
Mental health in teens
Mental health in teens
Posted in:
Mental Health, Anxiety & Depression, Sisterhood Stories
1 Replies
I am the mother of a teenage daughter who has self harmed. We have seen mental health people in emergency at the hospital and have had ongoing psychologist and gp support. I can only speak for myself, but I would definitely have appreciated knowing that my daughters had a friend and other adults looking out for her. It really does take a village. Of course your daughter’s friend needs professional help but the mum probably needs someone to check on her too. It is a hard toad to travel.