Suicide Prevention Week - Part 1.

This week, Sept. 10-16th, is National Suicide Prevention Week. Because this is something I know way too much about now, I'd like to share a small part of Caleb's story every day this week, hoping that it will resonate with someone else. If it does - immediately text or call a parent, a teacher, a friend, a pastor, and just say the words, "I really need help." Please, don't be scared to use those words.

Today, I want to address the story to parents. Caleb first came to use two years ago and said, "I think something is wrong with me." He had been doing his own online research and thought it could be depression or ADD. We did not take it very seriously. We knew he was going through stress with changes at school. So, in our mind, he just had not finished adjusting to the changes. We gave advice and actually got him in touch with his school guidance counselor to meet with and talk about stress management and better time management. Over the next two years, Caleb would drop "hints" every once in awhile. He even shared with me "what I do when things are really bad". But through it all, I thought he just wasn't trying hard enough. If he would just do the things we would tell him, he would be just fine. Why couldn't he just make himself study or sleep or get out of bed. I thought it was a matter of choice.

Neither Sean nor I did any research. If I had just read some articles on teenage depression or anxiety, I would have seen the clear facts. I would have seen that Caleb didn't have a choice, that he was trying with all his might but was losing the fight.

I never in a million years would have thought Caleb would make the choice to end his life. So, I stayed in denial, didn't ask the questions that I didn't want answers to, and handed him to a therapist and believed that would solve his problems.

Parents - pay attention to what your child is not saying to you.

They are not going to look you in the eye and say, "I want to kill myself." We were lucky Caleb communicated with us as much as he did. Most parents who lose their child had no idea whatsoever that the child was suffering. Ask the hard questions. And search out every avenue of help, while telling your child that there is always hope and that you together aren't going to give up.