Bridie Hennessey’s mum issues message about her tragic death

The mum of a 14-year-old Queensland girl who took her own life has bravely spoken about the alarming way teenagers discuss mental illness.

Bridie Hennessey, 14, tragically committed suicide on March 11, her mum is calling for students to treat others better and not discuss mental illness and self-harm so casually. Picture: Supplied

The mother of a 14-year-old girl who took her own life has called on parents and schools to do more about the alarming way children discuss mental illness as “cool”.

Chelsea Ramaekers said her daughter Bridie Hennessy, who had struggled with mental health problems, tragically died by suicide on March 11.

Ms Ramaekers described the Hervey Bay State High School student as a “beautiful” young girl with incredible talent as a musician.

“She was so beautiful, just so talented, and she was so smart. She was an amazing sister, especially to her little sisters,” Ms Ramaekers said. “She was an amazing daughter, my best friend. She was her sister’s best friend. She was with us all the time, always by my side.”

Ms Ramaekers said she believed teenagers discussed mental illness too casually and was concerned it played a part in Bridie’s overall mentality.

Child psychologist Michael Hawton said there was a common theme among teenagers to discuss mental illness without seeking solutions or challenging negative thinking.

“There is a fair degree of what’s called emotional contagion going on, where young people talk in almost a type of language with one another that can be quite depressing and anxiety provoking,” he said.

“The way they speak with one another about how bad things are, how awful things are, and then they seek out empathy from their friends, and their friends egg them on.

Bridie Hennessy

Bridie Hennessy

“They don’t know how to be each other’s mentors, and so as a result of that, they continue in this kind of discourse between themselves. It deteriorates mental health over time, and certainly brings a sense of hopelessness or helplessness. That hopelessness and helplessness is determined by the way they share with one another their narratives.”

While Ms Ramaekers said it was positive that mental health was less of a “taboo” subject, she feared some schoolyard discussions were harmful.

“A lot of friend groups seem to talk about suicide and mental health and have discussions around it like it was sort of cool,” she said. “Some of them would say ‘Oh this one has got this (mental illness) and this one has this’. It was like a competition, almost.

“She would tell me about her friends who self-harmed. It was like they all did it. But it was sort of when she said, ‘But everyone did it’. And I would say, ‘What do you mean by that? Everyone does it?’ They would talk about it and discuss it. That horrified me. I felt like it was a trend.”

Bridie Hennessey, 14, tragically committed suicide on March 11, her mum is calling for students to treat others better and not discuss mental illness and self-harm so casually. Picture: Supplied

Ms Ramaekers said Bridie had been in a “good place” for a long time, regularly attending psychologist appointments, counselling and engaging in positive activities.

But some upsetting comments made her “spiral”.

“She was bawling her eyes out about it. It broke her. That sort of spiralled things for her,” Ms Ramaekers said. “Then she just couldn’t face school for those last two weeks, she just wouldn’t go to school. She wouldn’t tell me what was wrong. I knew that she was spiralling, and it happened fast.”

Ms Ramaekers called on parents and schools to encourage positive discussion of mental health, teaching children the dangers of harmful, “casual” conversations about it.

Bridie Hennessy

“I don’t think people realise, whether it be about self-harm or other things, that their kids could be saying that they’ve got all these issues. Do these parents even know that their kids have these problems because they discuss it with their friends,” she said.

A Department of Education spokesperson said the school community was devastated.

“The school is providing extensive assistance to staff and students through guidance officers and specialist support staff,” they said.

Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek said he was “deeply saddened” and offered his sincere condolences to the family, friends and school community.