Teen saying she doesn't want to live anymore

[WhoTheFuckIsSimon]

Just wondering how normal this is? Is it just a normal up, down, hormonal type teenager?

I don't think she's depressed overall. I think she takes things to heart and at 15yo has a tendency to blow things out of proportion. She's said it a few times and said it again this evening. She gets down either over school work or lack of good friends. Today she's upset because the group of girls she hangs around with are falling out with each other and she feels stuck in the middle. She says she's sick of the arguing.

I was trying to cheer her up saying she'd got some fun stuff happening this weekend, then just four days of school and then a nice holiday to look forward to. And then she says she doesn't know if she will still be alive by the next weekend.

At what point do you take it seriously? I'm 99.9% sure she doesn't.

Last weekend she was happy, we had a day out shopping and lunch which she enjoyed. Then during the week she's been planning her ComicCon costume so she's looking forward to that.

But I am worried what if she does something stupid in the heat of the moment?

[Clare1971]

The standard advice is always to take it seriously I'm afraid. Could you say you are worried she is unhappy and ask if she would like you to arrange for her to talk to someone if she feels she can't talk to you? It's a very normal reaction to remind them of what they have to look forward to but it can make them feel you're not taking their concerns seriously so it might be more helpful to acknowledge what she's saying and ask if she wants to talk to you about it. I don't manage my own DDs depression at all well so I'm suggesting what might be helpful rather than what I actually manage to do.

[WhoTheFuckIsSimon]

Thanks. I did also talk for a long time about the stuff that's worrying her so hopefully she feels I listened. I told school a while ago but it was in a general conversation about how stressed she was about school work and they never picked up on that when I told them and just kept talking about how they would help her with the subjects she was struggling in.

Maybe I should talk to the gP?

[MajesticWhine]

I also think you need to take it seriously. She probably doesn't mean it and she probably wouldn't do anything, but teenagers can be very impulsive and do not always think things through. Ask her if she has thought about how she would end her life. It's not a nice conversation to have, but she will know you are taking her seriously. My depressed DD is under CAMHS who told us to lock away all medication, just in case she decides to take an overdose.
Yes, I do think you should consult the GP. And make sure you tell school that it is not just school work she needs support with and she needs emotional support. Is there a school counsellor?

[Florida41]

my 14 DD also under cahms , now on fluoxetine for the last 8 weeks .
also has good times but underneath the laughter there lies depression .
self harm ,bad thoughts ,
never thought it would have been her out of my 3 teenages to suffer with depression.
please keep a close eye on her and get her to the Drs if need be .
they are very good at only letting you know the bits they want to.
i have also bought a safe to lock away all medication , even though I don't think my daughter would ,you never know on that Spur of the moment feeling.

[Thornrose]

You could ring Young Minds or look at their website. They give really good advice.

When my dd first started to talk about suicide I rang them. They told me to take dd to the GP. As mentioned above, it's the impulsive nature of teens that's a real danger.