Hello,
Thank you for writing to me - it seems like theres a lot going on in your friends life and I can hear that you are very concerned about him. It sounds like your friend feels able to talk to you - by being there to listen you are already supporting him. It can be upsetting to see a friend feeling low, so its important that you also feel supported. If youd like to talk more about how youre feeling you could speak to a ChildLine counsellor about that.
Im concerned that you feel worried about your friend killing himself. Im wondering what you think your friend means when he says that he wont be around for much longer. How would it feel to ask him to tell you more? Sometimes friends who feel this way want us to listen to them and this is their way of asking. Perhaps you could encourage your friend to contact ChildLine himself either online or on the phone. ChildLine doesnt usually pass on the things young people tell us to anyone else, you can read more about our confidentiality policy here.
Youve spoken about things that worry you about your friends life reading some of the information on our site may help you to understand what your friend is coping with. Perhaps you and your friend could have a look together? The Self-harm page includes information about what else may help when someone feels like cutting themselves. These pages contain helpful information around feelings and how to get help if someone is concerned about their self-harming or it makes them feel unwell.
There are also pages about coping when someone dies on our website. Another website with support for bereaved young people is rd4u which has a lads only section. It can be helpful when people we care about have so much going on that we help them decide what they want to talk about or deal with first.
Its wrong for anyone to insult or tease someone for being gay. If thats happening at school perhaps you could offer to talk to a teacher about what people are doing, or to go with your friend to do that. Treating someone badly because of their sexuality is homophobia, and you can read more about this on our sexual orientation page in explore.
Im really glad that you decided to get in touch. Remember if you feel you would like to talk more about anything thats happening you can do that online, or on the phone, or by sending a personal email to a counsellor.
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.
