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You can talk privately to a counsellor online or call 0800 1111 for free.
Hi there,
Thanks for taking the time to write to me as I can hear how much you care for your friend and how worried you are that shes going through something serious.
Its understandable that youre worried about confronting your friend but even if she laughs it off then at least shell know that you care about her and are there for her when she does feel ready to talk. It might help to think about how you would talk to her and what you might say as it can be a very difficult thing to do. It can help to try to imagine someone trying to talk to you and how you would like them to do it and what you would like them to say it can also help to think about what you wouldnt like as well.
Although youve said youre worried that your friend wont tell you whats going on it does sound like she trusts as shes mentioned suicide to you. Sometimes people only have suicidal thoughts but sometimes they are really thinking about acting on these thoughts, either way, it really important to get help and support. You might want to have a look at the suicide advice in the Explore section of the ChildLine website. It might help to talk to your friend about it and see if she knows what kind of help shed like but if youre really worried about her you might want to think about letting a trusted adult know about this. Your friend can talk to one of the counsellors at ChildLine they often talk to young people who have suicidal thoughts and help them to cope with them. I do not believe that suicide is the answer. It might help to go through our confidentiality policy with your friend as it explains when ChildLine might have to tell someone else in this case it would only be if your friends life was in immediate danger.
Seeing your friend like this and supporting her can be very difficult and its important that you get support when you need it too. You can also talk to the counsellors at ChildLine whenever you need to about your worries about your friend and how its affecting you, and even go through how to talk to her about it. You can do this by ringing them on 0800 1111, calls are free and wont show up on bills; you can take up an online chat through the website; or you can send an email once youve set up an account but it can take up to 24 hours to get a reply via email.
Take care,
Sam
You can talk privately to a counsellor online or call 0800 1111 for free.
You can ask me about anything you want, there's nothing too big or small. I read every single letter but I can only answer a few each week. My replies are published here on my page.