Q: How can I help friends who are attempting suicide or self-harm?
A: I was admitted to a closed ward because of self-harm, and there I met a friend who was also admitted because of self-harm and suicide attempts.
I always tell my friend, “I won’t force you to live.
But I really like you, so I want to see you for a long time.
Thank you for being alive today.
You worked hard today.
Let's spend a little happier day together tomorrow.
“I’ll contact you first thing tomorrow morning, so please answer my call.” They often make promises about the future, like this.
Not the distant future, but the short future.
If I make plans like tomorrow morning and lunch the day after, I'll have plans until then, so I shouldn't die until then. I have another plan.
Until then, it's a way to encourage thoughts like, "Should I try to survive a little?"
My friend and I always say, “Good job” before going to bed.
I often say things like, “Thank you.”
I am grateful for that friend and his very existence, and even if he didn't do anything today, I praise and thank him for that in itself.
--- p.32

"hello.
“Dad, I’m thinking of getting a tattoo on my thigh.”
I had a feeling that the tattoo parlor had already called.

After exchanging a few words, I realized that it would be impossible to persuade my daughter, who lives far away, over the phone.
Byul-i didn't call to discuss or ask for permission from her father.
I called to inform you.
Byeol-i was the type of person who had to do whatever she set her mind to.
What good would it do if I told you not to get a tattoo when you've already saved up money and gone to a tattoo parlor to get one?
--- p.51

In fact, it is not uncommon for elementary school students or teenagers to steal other people's things.
Even if it's not someone else's money, it's common to see people secretly taking money from their parents' wallets or opening piggy banks that their family members have saved up and using it secretly.
It must be a huge shock to parents when their child, who has always been honest, touches someone else's belongings.
At first, you may think, ‘Did I raise him wrong?’ and worry about ‘What will happen to him in the future?’
Sometimes it feels as if all of your child's education is falling apart.
However, if you think about it for a moment, you may have touched other people's things when you were young, and there may have been someone among your friends who did the same thing when you were young.
Almost all of them will live their lives as healthy adults.
Childhood and adolescence are still periods of growth, so rational judgment is impaired.
So, there are cases where people are unable to suppress or control their immediate desires for things and end up touching other people's things.
These behaviors rarely become ingrained habits that persist for years, and as we grow, we become able to control and regulate our own behavior through rational judgment.
So I hope parents don't get too frustrated or angry when their children touch other people's things.
It is necessary to deal with the situation calmly and generously while also letting the person know that it was a wrong action.
This way, you can help your children grow up to be able to discern right from wrong without causing them serious harm or causing them great frustration.

--- p.77