IT WAS AN ordinary day in fifth year when Aidan sneakily checked a text message in class. It read: "Lyndsey's dead. She hung herself." Aidan sat winded and motionless as the news of his best friend's suicide quickly spread, writes PETER McGUIRE

“She was only 16, always really outgoing, always happy, always having a laugh,” he recalls. “Real jolly. Nobody knew she would do that. Her parents still don’t know why.” Lyndsey’s death provoked Aidan, who is now 18 and finished in school, to change his approach to life. “I’d had a lot of problems before: everything from being cheated on by my girlfriend to very serious fallouts with my parents and problems with local gangs. When Lyndsey died, I wondered what she must have been carrying around inside her. What was going on in her head? It shook me up: people my age shouldn’t see their friend lying in a coffin. Teenagers are meant to give life a chance, not give up so quickly.”

Aidan made a silent promise to himself always to deal with his problems head-on. “You shouldn’t carry it around with you. Once you let your problems, whatever they are, take over, they start controlling your life and pissing you off. It can make you very angry; at least, it did for me.”

National mental health organisation Aware estimates that one in 10 adolescents aged 13 to 19 will experience a major depressive episode.

EACH YEAR,one in 38 males, or 2.6 per cent, die by suicide, while the female suicide rate accounts for less than 1 per cent of all female deaths. Encouraging young people to talk about their mental health and wellbeing – perhaps to a friend, family member, teacher, doctor, or youth worker – is the core reason behind a number of initiatives aimed at Transition Year and other secondary students, including Letsomeoneknow.ie, Spunout.ie, TeenHelp, and Beat the Blues. The resources also provide useful contact information for various support organisations.

Aidan believes these initiatives could provide support and guidance to young people in trouble. “Life’s totally different for young people these days. There’s so many pressures: bullying, pressure to do well, what’s happening at home, drugs and alcohol, and body image, even more so for girls. I know of another girl who was being sexually abused by her father, and eventually took her own life. It’s a shame she didn’t feel that there was someone she could turn to for help.”

There’s a widespread, not unfounded, belief that boys are less likely to discuss their problems and emotions than girls. Aidan’s experience suggests otherwise. “I think that’s a stupid stereotype,” he says. “Yes, a big percentage of boys are still like that, but it’s changing, especially for older teens from about 16 or 17. I have no problem expressing the way I feel. If we’re in a big gang, we pretend, boys put on an image, that still goes around. You know, the tough – I’m not like that. If I ever have a problem, I always tell my best mate, and he always tells me. He’s the same age as me, he lives in the same area, and gets me. He gets the world the same way I do.”

Rich resources for those in poor mental health

Letsomeoneknow.ie

This site is an interactive platform that increases awareness about mental health and wellbeing, encouraging young people to talk to friends and family. See letsomeoneknow.ie for more details.

Beat the Blues from Aware

Coolmine Community School in Clonsilla, north Co Dublin, participates in this 80-minute, interactive education programme. The presentation tackles the issue of depression in both a relaxed and optimistic fashion, explains school counsellor Dr Brendan Byrne. “It tackles the myths and the realities of depression, and removes the stigma. All the students take away a special bookmark featuring the symptoms of depression and Aware’s contact details.” For more information phone Aware on 01-6617211 or log on to aware.ie

TeenHelp

Barnardos has earned credibility as an advocate for young people, and their new resource TeenHelp includes both an online aid supporting teenagers in the various big and small problems they face and a series of booklets for parents. For more information see barnados.ie/teenhelp.