Female 1: I have my ups and downs just like anybody else.
Male 1: Maybe more than anybody else.
Female 2: I can be hard to figure out
Male 2: and I like my privacy.
Male 3: I don't want you looking over my shoulder all the time.
Female 3: But you know your kid better than anybody else and if you think he's acting different than usual,
Male 1: acting really down, crying all the time for no good reason
Female 2: or getting really mad,
Female 1: not able to sleep or sleeping too much,
Male 3: shutting their friends out or giving their stuff away,
Female 2: acting reckless, drinking, using drugs, staying out late,
Male 2: suddenly not doing stuff they used to love
Female 3: or doing stuff that's just not like him,
Male 1: it might be nothing to worry about. It might just be high school
Female 1: or it might be something more. He might be depressed.
Female 3: Not just feeling down, really depressed.
Male 2: It might be that your kid is thinking about killing himself.
Male 3: It happens more than you think, more than it should.
Female 3: And people say "I had no idea."
Male 1: "I thought it was just a phase he was going through."
Female 1: "I never thought she'd do it."
Male 2: "I wish he'd come to me."
Female 2: "I wish he had said something."
Male 3: "I wish I'd said something."
Female 3: when it's too late. So if you think your kids acting different, if she seems like a different person, say something.
Male 1: Say "What's wrong? How can I help?"
Female 2: and ask him straight out, "Are you thinking about killing yourself?"
Female 1: It doesn't hurt to ask. In fact, it helps.
Male 3: When people are thinking about killing themselves, they want somebody to ask.
Male 2: They want somebody to care.
Female 2: Maybe you're afraid you'll make it worse if you ask. Like you'll put the idea in their head.
Male 3: Believe me, it doesn't work that way.
Female 1: It doesn't hurt to ask.
Female 3: In fact, the best way to keep a teenager from killing herself is to ask, "Are you thinking about killing yourself?"
Male 1: And what if they say "yes"
Female 2: or "maybe"
Male 2: or "sometimes?"
Female 3: Well, here's what you don't say,
Male 3: "That's crazy."
Female 2: "Don't be such a drama queen."
Male 3: "You're making too much of this."
Female 1: "That boy's not worth killing yourself over."
Female 3: "It's not going to solve anything."
Male 1: "You're just trying to get attention."
Male 2: "You're not going to kill yourself."
Male 3: What you do say is
Female 2: "I'm sorry you're feeling so bad."
Female 1: "How can I help?"
Female 3: "We'll get through this together."
Male 1: "Let's keep you safe."
Male 2: A lot of people think about killing themselves, adults and kids.
Male 3: Most of them never tried but some of them do, so if your kid says,
Female 2: "I'd be better off dead."
Female 3: "I can't live with this."
Male 3: "I'm gonna kill myself."
Male 2: take her seriously. Find someone she can talk to about it. Someone who knows how to help.
Female 2: Sometimes kids want to kill themselves because something happened--a breakup, a failure,
Female 1: but sometimes it goes deeper and it's not going to go away by itself.
Female 3: Get some help. Talk to your doctor,
Male 2: or a counselor at school,
Male 1: or your minister,
Male 3: but don't just let it drop,
Female 1: and make sure that your kid always has someone to turn to. Someone he trusts.
Female 3: Make a list together. Write down three, four, five names
Male 1: and put a suicide hotline number on there, too.
Male 3: Have him keep that list in his wallet so he always knows where to turn.
Female 3: Make sure your home is safe.
Female 2: If you have pills she could use to hurt herself, lock them up.
Male 2: If you have a gun, don't just lock it up. Get it out of the house, the bullets too.
Male 1: And one more thing, if you think your kid might be about to hurt himself, don't leave him alone.
Female 1: Take him to the emergency room.
Male 3: Call 9-1-1 if you have to.
Male 1: We all have our ups and downs but sometimes it's more than that.
Female 3: If you think something's wrong, the only way to find out is to ask.
Female 2: Ask straight-out, "Are you thinking about killing yourself?"
Male 2: Don't wait until you're sure. Trust your gut.
Male 3: Because it never hurts to ask
Female 1: and it can make a big difference,
Female 2: all the difference
Female 3: in your kid's life.