Dear Worried: If you have a friend voicing suicidal thoughts or intentions, always take it seriously. Don’t dismiss it as a way of getting attention. You have to remember that depression can be a potentially fatal illness—and that you are potentially saving a life. If you know someone who is having suicidal thoughts, you should keep friends around him at all times and contact an adult you trust—a person your friend can talk to about his feelings.

Consider calling a suicide prevention hotline or the police. Find out if your local psychiatric hospital has a community assessment team who can evaluate his mental state.

Also, keep in mind that during adolescence, depression isn’t always marked by sadness. Often, the common indicators are a drop in grades, boredom, truancy, sexually acting out, experimenting with drugs, violence, impulsiveness, obsessive thoughts, eating disorders. However these symptoms don’t necessarily add up to suicidal tendencies.