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In reply to the discussion: boy, 12, kills himself after 'he was bullied [View all]Posteritatis
(18,807 posts)A common thread among a lot of kids who take their own lives is that they're alone; that nobody knows they're hurting, or at least doesn't care that they are (y'know, the standard "oh, that's just teenage drama" dismissal, or its newer variant, "oh, that's just internet stuff and isn't real" . The surprise so many feel when someone in their community takes his or her own life kind of underscores that
It's hard for someone stuck in that hole to see anything past it; it's an attitude that's really good at reinforcing itself. Add onto that the fact that so many are (legitimately) afraid of just being blown off when they do try to reach out and it just gets worse.
You're right that people do need to take more individual initiative that way; a simple "hey, I am acknowledging that you exist" followed by some actual listening doesn't take much and can have a huge impact on its own, even before going into larger-scale, more organized ways of helping.