My son ENDED HIS LIFE AT 14

This Mental Health Awareness week, Mia Bannister shares her grief at losing her little boy and what needs to be done to help others

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Plating up my 14-year-old son Ollie’s favourite spaghetti bolognese, I already knew I was wasting my time. ‘I’m not that hungry, Mum,’ he said, opening a can of tuna instead, only to pick at it.

Throughout his ‘meal’, he was glued to his phone, scrolling endlessly through TikTok and Instagram. When he was done, he slunk off to his bedroom in silence. I just couldn’t understand what had happened to my little boy.

From the moment Ollie was born, we had a special bond. A single mum from when he was just 18 months old, it was always the two of us. We were inseparable.

We went on holidays and cruises together and had ‘Rule-Free Fridays’, where I'd let Ollie eat dessert for dinner, and we'd cuddle up to watch a movie of his choice. Ollie was cheeky, bright and wise beyond his years. Friends used to say it was like watching The Ollie and Mia Show. I loved hearing that. But everything changed when he started high school.

Like many young teens, Ollie experienced bullying. Two of his classmates even told Ollie to ‘kill himself’ on Snapchat. I arranged for him to see a psychologist, but it didn’t seem to help. The cruel taunts shattered his self-esteem and he became withdrawn, refusing to go to school. In his second year of high school, he missed 125 days.

A downward spiral