"The pain is indescribable," begins *Rachel Keya*, her voice thick with grief. “You never imagine outliving your child, and when it happens because of suicide, there’s this additional layer of guilt and confusion. You’re left constantly asking yourself: What did we miss? What could we have done differently?"
Even two years after the tragic loss of her 17-year-old son, Kevin, who took his own life, the sense of inexplicable pain lingers in Rachel’s home like a heavy shadow that refuses to lift.
The weight of the tragedy, compounded by unanswered questions and missed signs, continues to haunt her family.
"Kevin was always quiet, you know?" Rachel reflects, her words drenched in sorrow. "But in hindsight, I see that his silence wasn’t just typical teenage moodiness.
It was a cry for help, one that we failed to hear." Her memories paint a heartbreaking picture of how the unnoticed signs now stand out starkly in her mind.
Rachel, a mother of three, recalls how in the months leading up to Kevin's death, she was often tied up with work. During school holidays, Kevin would spend countless hours engrossed in video games, lost in the virtual world of his PlayStation. "I tried talking to him," she says, "but all I would get were grunts or one-word responses. I shrugged it off, thinking he was just being a typical teenager. How wrong I was."
Kevin’s mood swings gradually became more erratic. He would snap at his younger sister over the smallest things, and then retreat into the solitude of his room, sometimes for hours.
Even Rachel’s husband had attempted to reach out to him, but Kevin remained withdrawn, locked in a world of his own pain.
"There were days when he seemed fine," Rachel recalls, her voice heavy with regret.
"He would joke around with us during supper, or he’d play video games with his cousins. Those moments gave us false reassurance, made us believe that whatever was troubling him was just temporary."
Rachel painfully acknowledges that her son struggled to cope with her separation from his father, which had occurred three years before the tragedy.
The cracks in their marriage, as much as they tried to hide them, were all too visible to Kevin, manifesting in frequent arguments and the distance caused by their professional commitments.
"Pay attention. Your child’s life may depend on it," Rachel says.
According to Dr Catherine Syengo Mutisya, a consultant psychiatrist with two decades of experience and a passionate advocate for mental health, teen suicide is an alarming and growing concern in Kenya.
Citing the World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr Mutisya notes that suicide is now the fourth leading cause of death among young people aged 15 to 29, a sobering statistic that continues to rise.
"Many parents are unaware of the warning signs," Dr Mutisya explains. "Things like sudden changes in behavior, mood swings, or withdrawal from activities that once brought joy are often overlooked, but these can all be signs of a deeper issue."
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