© yarnspinner
The young boy lived up the road. Whenever I saw him he seemed to droop, never looking at you, his brow a field of ridges and furrows and his shoulders sagged. He never smiled and the most response from him was a grunt.
When I heard he’d hung himself the line from The Loved One echoed round my head. giving me visions of red protruding eyeballs and a black protruding tongue. I fixated on the ability of anyone to lie in the bedroom where he had hung. Most of all I wondered if I could have made more of an effort.
Thank you to our Friday Fictioneers host Rochelle Wiseoff-Fields and to Yarnspinner for providing this weeks photo prompt.
Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide and in Australia each year around 1 million people suffer with depression and 2 million with anxiety. The number of deaths by suicide in young Australians is the highest it has been in ten years and is the biggest killer of our youth – higher than car accidents. Beyond Blue and other organisations are well equipped to give assistance to those concerned for loved ones and for those who need help.
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About Irene Waters 19 Writer Memoirist
I began my working career as a reluctant potato peeler whilst waiting to commence my training as a student nurse. On completion I worked mainly in intensive care/coronary care; finishing my hospital career as clinical nurse educator in intensive care. A life changing period as a resort owner/manager on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu was followed by recovery time as a farmer at Bucca Wauka. Having discovered I was no farmer and vowing never again to own an animal bigger than myself I took on the Barrington General Store. Here we also ran a five star restaurant. Working the shop of a day 7am - 6pm followed by the restaurant until late was surprisingly more stressful than Tanna. On the sale we decided to retire and renovate our house with the help of a builder friend. Now believing we knew everything about building we set to constructing our own house. Just finished a coal mine decided to set up in our backyard. Definitely time to retire we moved to Queensland. I had been writing a manuscript for some time. In the desire to complete this I enrolled in a post grad certificate in creative Industries which I completed 2013. I followed this by doing a Master of Arts by research graduating in 2017. Now I live to write and write to live.
Reflections and Nightmares- Irene A Waters (writer and memoirist) 
Sigh..
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Yes.
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So very sad. And to have that image imprinted… awful!
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Yes youth suicide is a very sad phenomena that increases by the year. We have to look at ways to prevent it.
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Such a topical story Irene. Mental health is indeed a criminally-ignored area.
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Absolutely although world heath epidemiologists have put it as the number 1 problem the world has to tackle. The big problem is how.
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That was sad. Even I dia has seen increase in such cases. The big problem is, many people don’t even understand here that someone dealing with depression needs assistance. A pat on the back might not be sufficient.
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That is so true. for many years here you were seen as being weak if you became depressed so people learnt to keep it quiet. In reality almost 50% of people will experience depression in their lives and it is a huge problem. I hope your country tackles it and I hope so does mine.
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A powerful story with a great message.
All too often, we assume that the sufferer’s family will take care of them , un-burdening ourselves of whatever little support we could offer.
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Thank you. In our society we isolate ourselves from our neighbours and don’t want to interfere. It has dreadful ramifications not only for those that are depressed but also for new mothers that could be stuggling and the elderly.
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A tragic story.
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Yes it is tragic.
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Awful, young deaths, yet we see and do nothing for fear of being rejected.
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Rejected or interfering. Sadly we like to isolate ourselves in this society.
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It’s a worrying thought, isn’t it – could we have done more?
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Hard to know. The odds are any advances would have been rejected but at least we could have tried.
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Another tragedy another news item. Topical take.
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Sadly it is topical and a tragedy of our society.
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Yes, I think one does feel like this when something bad happens. A very striking piece.
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Thank you.
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A beautifully done portrait of despair. Well done.
Susan A Eames at
Travel, Fiction and Photos
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Thank you Susan.
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Suicide is worth talking about and it never hurts to ask, “How can I help?”
I vivid story.
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Yes I agree Tracey. It is an increasing problem and unless we have the conversation and work out strategies to help I fear it will continue to rise as we isolate ourselves more and more from our neighbours.
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This is a wonderful story about a very important topic that affects so many people.
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Thank you Lisa and you are right – it affects so many people. We have to think about it to stem the tide.
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You’ve tackled an important topic with your powerful story. By making it personal, making it real, you open your readers’ eyes to the issue. Well done.
Of course, because of the constraints of 100 words you’ve made the victim very obviously ill. Here, in the comments, without any word count, it’s probably worth mentioning that many people who suffer from depression and/or anxiety don’t show severe symptoms – but they’re still seriously at risk. It’s really important that we are sensitive to the state of mind of our family and friends.
The good news is that professional help can improve matters greatly. Both depression and anxiety can be effectively treated with appropriate therapy.
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Thank you for adding further information Penny. You are of course right that often no-one knows. Unfortunately in our society we become isolated in our boxes and it is not just depressed that suffer but also new mothers that aren’t coping and the elderly to name just a few. Perhaps we should make more of an effort to be inclusive of those around us whether we know they need help or not.
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Youth suicides are such a tragedy and depression can strike anyone regardless of their age and status. Very topical take on the prompt.
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That is true. We need to become aware of the symptoms and aware of those around us.
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I like the way this is handled – such a delicate subject. Nicely done 🙂
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Thank you.
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Sad and touching story, Irene. Devastating last line “I wondered if I could have made more of an effort.” I know the feeling and it will haunt her for a long time…
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I’m sorry you know the feeling Luccia and you are right – it will haunt her probably forever.
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Oh, I hate being left with that feeling ~ “Could I have done more?”
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Yes – a feeling none of us want.
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Dear Irene,
Such a tragic story. Very well told.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thank you Rochelle.
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[A powerful tale, Irene.] Sadly depression is often difficult to spin down to one cause, which can make treatment difficult. But one starts to manage it: by talking about it.
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Absolutely
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Irene, this is one your best. You drew that boy so clearly, and my heart wanted to reach out to him. Depression is something I deal with every day in my counseling office. It’s surely a terrible enemy.
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Thank you. I take my hat off to you dealing with it every day and I imagine improvements come slowly and sometimes not at all.
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True–but there are victories, and that makes it SO worthwhile.
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I’m glad to hear that.
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Your story is a sad one but those statistics…wow.
I was curious to see if it was here and it is the second largest cause of death for young people.
Staggering numbers.
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It is staggering and set to become worse globally as the developing world inherit the problems we have in ours.
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Someone once wrote that a suicide kills two people. I think it is at least two. The living torture of wondering was there anything that could have been done to prevent the tragedy. Signs and signals are absent in so many vulnerable people.
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You are right. Often those around the person are totally unaware but it doesn’t stop the wondering. You are right it kills at least two people if not more and it certainly effects many others.
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All of this is absolutely true and well told. Painful and sad. It’s absolutely essential to have people understand that depression is a sickness and not just a mood.
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That’s a hard hitting story, well told
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Thank you Michael.
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Sometimes it’s the guilt that hurts the most. A sad tale.
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Yes it is sad and I although I don’t believe in guilt it is the hard part to move on from.
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This is heartbreaking Irene. And all the more so because of the simple prose you used, the thoughts surrounding the boy’s death. It’s so frightening, this phenomenon, especially in young men who seem unable to discuss their problems. Very well written
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Thank you Lynn. It is very much a growing problem and one that we don’t know about until it is too late.
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Men are so good at not talking, at brushing off questions and offers of help. Their own worst enemy, sadly
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True.
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So sad and makes me think…
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It is sad. Thanks for thinking Dahlia
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So sad, Irene. The emotions left by a suicide are always with the ones left behind, wondering.
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Something you never stop wondering.
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