The Old Fart and his Band of Tornado Angels

TEENAGE SUICIDE...........JUST LIKE ME ITS SOMETHING YOU CAN LEARN TO LIVE WITH..........I DID AND STILL DO ...AND YOU CAN TOO..........Actually being an old fart is nowhere near as sorry a state as some of you younger ones might think…..The thing is not only have I had the chances but I’ve also had the opportunity of chances too…..and yea I probably squandered most of them … but that’s in the past and I’m still here….and with some very good memories too of the things that I did actually get to do….and if you manage to keep a sense of humour , reasonably good health ( considering the circumstances ) and an understanding that the word “me” is only relevant when used in direct connection with you, we, us and them, then you too could be writing this in a handful of decades time and hopefully thinking …. hmmmmm…. It wasn’t really so scary after all…..So what then saddens me are lives cut short…. Some naturally, some by accident and others by a third party…. Many of these cannot be avoided… but the ones that dig into me are suicides involving young people…. To simply throw away the chances, irrespective of how they pan out, is tragic …and in most cases so avoidable….. According to statistics most young suicides give on average at least 3 warnings of the dire situation they are in….some don’t because they don’t even recognise it in themselves… but for those that do lets all try to listen more attentively… be aware of changes…yea I know …how do you spot a change in an ever changing juvenile…..Often on reflection you might find it was the nagging intuition that something wasn’t quite right…those odd things that you might have dismissed to moodiness etc… and sometimes communicating with a very frightened youngster escaping into a numbing seclusion can be very very difficult…..A simple question from you might seem like interrogation to them so to say go softly softly is an understatement…. the imperative is to create a dialogue…and one based on respect and an allowance of illogical space for them to move within….the reason for the latter is because youngsters who commit suicide are often completely at odds and allow their worries a very disproportionate amount of attention and negative consequences.There are many professional and supportive agencies to help you deal with this…whether you are parent, friend , family or whoever…or if you are going through this yourself… they are their to help…and NO-ONE is beyond help…. No matter how bad or irresolvable the problem might appear to be…..and there is ALWAYS someone who cares…!! If you can simply accept these last two points as irremoveable and irrefutable truth then you will be the best part to ridding yourself of what in many instances is simply a temporary part of growing up.