Should I call for my friend??

[Tegann]

he's saying how he doesn't deserve to live and how all he wants is to die and that he just wants to get shot or something.  He's already been cutting himself/hitting himself really hard in the head.  He's scaring all of our friends, and one  of them is planning to talk to his parents today, but I'm afraid they'll just pass it off as teenage angst like they have before.  (The depression, they don't know about the cutting.)  I'm at the point that it's making me feel sick and just not want anything to do with anyone.  What should we do? What should I do? Avoid them? I don't know! I shouldn't have to deal with this at 16!!  We all had started out as friends because we had no one else, and over time we grew to care about each other, but I'm just so damn sick of the staying up all night to talk some one out of suicide while half a year ago I was trying to talk myself out of it.  I'm not trying to be selfish.. I just can't handle it...

[opus88]

Yes u do need to talk to his parents or call 911, he is in serious trouble!!
And you need to take care of yourself also..if you also have problems with depression and suicide tendencies this will also drag you down..
he is a friend but unless he gets help and fast you may need to stay away from him and his problems
take good care there Tegann

[mammo]

This is a lot for a 16 year old to deal with, when your friend's parents should be doing this.  I think it's wonderful that one of the friends is going to talk to his parents, hopefully they listen.  Why don't you write a letter, maybe annonymously to his parents and tell them also of your concern and tell them everything so that they recognize the seriousness of his problem.  But then you may want to back off.  It's tough enough being a teen today, and he needs to want help to get help.  You're not his caretaker, I know you care, but you cannot allow this to ruin your health.  It's too much pressure.  Also, sometimes because of all the attention they get from friends, won't seek help, thriving on that attention.  Once the ball is put back in his court, his parents are made aware, there is no more you can do.  You can talk and talk and talk, but until he decides to get help, you can't do it for him.  I would also tell your friend that he can get help thru his school counselor, who also will make his parents take this seriously.  Tell him you care about him but cannot sit by and watch him destroying himself.  Tell him that you will be there will he's ready, but for now he's got a decision to make.  You will be doing him a big favor, and so would his friends.  You're a good person and are not abandoning him, just not enabling him any longer.  Start living your life..........

[Hensley258]

Yea he's at high risk for suicide. I can tell by the way you described it.
You need to tell his parents EVERYTHING even the cutting. If you must be blunt then tell them that if they want to see their son alive for another week then they better get him some help and fast.

I agree with you that all too often parents (that don't understand mental illness) brush it off and say Billys ok and he's just letting off steam. That's not because they don't care, but because they are completly ignorent.

If his parents fail to respond then maybe call a crisis line for him.

Problem now is that if you don't take action and he does kill himself, then I'm afrade you will blame yourself for not taking real action. You don't want to live with that.

On the other hand if you do all these things and he still ends up killing himself then at leats you can say, "I did everything I could."

OK so he may be mad at you for exposing his illness. He will thank you 10 years later for saving his life.