IT can be hard for those who have never suffered from clinical depression to understand how dark the world can seem to those who do.

Pia-Mari Powell’s heartbreaking description of her 17-year-old son Tristan’s last couple of months gives some indication, however.

“He always said... he loved everyone, his family and all his friends, and he knew we loved him, but he couldn’t love himself,” she told The Press.

Tristan took his life last month after struggling with depression for some time. He had left school a year earlier. And while he had applied for a place at music college, he had begun to feel there was “no future for him”, Mrs Powell said.

Unemployment and the apparent lack of opportunities has made life tough for young school and university leavers in recent years.

Thankfully, most will not enter a place anything like as dark as that in which Tristan found himself. Statistics show suicide rates are highest among middle-aged men. They are lower among those aged under 20.

Nevertheless there will be many who, on leaving school or university, will be left wondering what life holds for them.

The good news is there is help out there – organisations such as the Samaritans or PAPYRUS, the national charity for the prevention of young suicide.

Tristan’s parents say their son often said he wished he had asked for help sooner. “So that’s the message we want to put out there, there’s nothing wrong with asking for help,” said Mrs Powell.

In today’s newspaper, we print a telephone number anyone with concerns about depression can call. So please, if you feel low yourself, or are worried about someone else, do seek help. It could save a life.