The suicide deaths of 17 teenagers in and around Bridgend, Wales, since January 2007 has put the ugly subject of suicide back in the headlines across the UK and Europe as a whole.

Mal Fletcher

It's an ugly and heartbreaking subject because of the tragedy of wasted young lives, and the mess of shame, anger and recrimination suicide leaves with families and friends.

Psychologists and others in the region are looking for reasons as to why this spate of suicides is happening. Theories abound; including the idea - as yet unproven - that they are somehow directly linked via the Internet.

There may be sociological and even economic factors involved in suicide cases, but the bottom line is that nobody commits suicide who feels they have sufficient reason to live.

In the end, as one writer put it, suicide is the 'ultimate disconnection'; the ultimate expression of pointlessness.

For some, it is also an expression of self-loathing and the feeling that the world would, in fact, be a better place if they weren't in it.

Reading of the recent Welsh suicides is shocking, but this shouldn't make us feel overwhelmed, or helpless to respond. When we talk about suicide as a social problem, it's easy to talk in terms of numbers and statistics; yet these are just abstractions for individual human beings.

Suicide affects one person at a time - and nobody is beyond help.

Perhaps you're concerned about a friend right now. Perhaps they've started acting strangely or saying things that sound self-destructive.

They've had their problems and you're concerned that they may be contemplating a drastic course of action.

The good news is this: you can bring someone back from the brink of disaster. The process starts with recognizing the warning signs and treating them seriously.

What Are The Warning Signs?

Here are some of the signs that suggest a person may be contemplating suicide. None of these taken alone necessarily represents a threat, but if you're seeing several of them all at once, you might need to pay special attention.

1. Major changes in Normal Behaviour:

When normally outgoing people suddenly become sullen and uncommunicative, for example, or when a very good student suddenly starts failing in school, alarm bells might need to ring.

2. Sleeping Problems: