Changes in eating, weight and dress. Inability to focus or make decisions can result in not eating, noticeable weight loss or wearing the same clothes every day. Sudden disinterest in friends or activities. Giving away treasured possessions, writing letters or visits to say goodbye and self-mutilation by extensive skin punctures, burns or cuts. Drug or alcohol use.
Substance use can be both a cause and a symptom of depression.
School friends and classmates who hear anything about a suicide intention from a peer need to tell a trusted adult at school or at home, even if they have promised secrecy. These are not good secrets to keep when a life is in danger. Ask teens about their feelings. Parents and teachers need to be willing to both ask and listen in a nonjudgmental way to what teens want to talk about, rather than switching into lecture mode. If teens do mention suicide, immediately talk with them.