Many people who commit suicide have given warnings to friends and family. Some people even tell a friend about a plan to kill themselves before they actually do. Tell a responsible adult. Telling an adult that a friend might be depressed is betraying a trust. If someone wants help, he or she will get it.
Depression interferes with a person's ability or wish to get help.
And many parents may not understand the seriousness of depression or of thoughts of death or suicide. It is an act of true friendship to share your concerns with a school guidance counsellor, a favourite teacher, your parents or another trusted adult. This change is similar to normal variations in brain chemistry that can be triggered by illness, stress, frustration or grief, but differs in that it is self-sustaining and does not resolve itself once the triggering event is removed. These new stresses can be enough to act as triggers for continuing changes in brain chemistry, or they can simply prevent the resolution of the difficulties that may have triggered the initial alteration. Changes in brain chemistry can be caused by a psychological or a physical event, or both.