(NOTE: I am not a mental health professional, and while some of the advice I am about to give is generally accepted, some of it is from what I remember from my high school sucide prevention class. Some pshycologists hold that the advice given by such programs will only make the problem worse, so if you feel the need to act, I would reccommend pulling out the phone book and calling the appropriate city, county, or state agency for advice or help)

A few years back during my senior year of high school a friend of mine and I became worried that a friend of ours was suicidal. We discovered that he had seen a psycologist in the past, but he was no longer doing so and there was still evidence of suicidal behavior. So we called up the local mental health officials (I don't really remember exactly which part of the county bueracracy it was) to ask for advice. They told us that if we thought our friend posed an immediate threat to himself or others then we needed to take the steps necessary to get him temporarially committed. That wasn't a step we were willing to take; we had hoped for advice on how to talk to him, but I've since learned that there isn't really much of a consensus on what will help or hurt a sucidial person short of professional help. Apparently the best thing to do is listen; statements like "you should be happy," or "you have a lot to live for," generally aren't advisable. The best way to find out how serious the problem is is to ask bluntly questions like, "Are you contemplating suicide? Do you have a plan for how you are going to do it? " and so forth. These questions apparently don't further encourage the suicide, and will help you gague whether drastic action is justified. If you're not ready to take such steps, then encourage your friend to seek treatment on his own.

Anyway, my friend is still alive today, and much happier. We didn't end up really doing anything except watching him for signs that he would really hurt himself. In retrospect, I would guess that while he was depressed, he didn't have the will to commit suicide and the evidence we saw was more a cry for help/attention than anything else. However, I say this with the benifit of 3 plus years hindsight, and I sometimes wonder how close he came to ending his life.

I hope your case turns out to be one of mere angst as well.

Balanthalus