Hi Philippa, Yes, I've read the information on your site & am trying to figure out the best place & time to have a really direct conversation. I'm worried she might feel ashamed so I'll have to be really careful when I raise the subject. I was thinking of maybe starting off light hearted, telling her I'll really miss her if she kills herself & then gauging her reply, if she denies it or plays it down, maybe mentioning that the guidance officer or mum mentioned you were thinking about killing yourself.... & seeing how she responds. At least that gets the dialogue open & I can make sure she knows I'm happy to listen to her if she's feeling down & lost. As for professional help.... we encouraged her to call the kids helpline a year or so ago which she did but I'm not sure she got a lot from it because it's very impersonal, being a phone call with a stranger & no face to face contact. I figured I'd encourage her to call again & see what she thinks or maybe call one of the other numbers listed on your site. For the time being I'm just trying to keep the energy positive whenever she's around me & engaging her in fun banter to put a smile on her face. Basically using stealth giving her something to enjoy living for. Last night she wanted my time & attention to help her use my home gym. Ordinarily I would've said no but I made sure we spent the time together. Her, showing off & engaging in one of my interests in an effort to have my attention & me making sure she felt important & heard. ... View more

I'd really love to hear how this panned out! My 11yr old daughter has started saying similar things & searching online about self harm & naturally I'm pretty thrown by it. I feel like it is attention seeking but it'd be soul destroying to find out I was wrong.  Id love to hear what worked, what didn't, where you found help etc. best wishes ... View more