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[quote]
He faced possible suspension and expulsion from school, the letter said, unless he withdrew and deferred the charges while he got treatment.
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What is important to remember in this story is that the boy was warned he could face suspension/expulsion if he refused treatment, which it appeared he did. </p>
<p>This was not a boy depressed over trouble with his classes who sought short term counseling but a student with significant, psychological problems. If Nott was in need of inpatient, relatively long term treatment--which it seems he was--and he refused it, then he is voluntarily leaving himself and the school community at risk. </p>
<p>I see absolutely no problem with the school's actions.</p>
<p>I agree with the school too, having recently received treatment for severe depression. If you're at the stage that life doesn't matter anymore, it's important to remove yourself entirely from the sources of misery and get a grip.</p>
<p>A couple of months ago I fully planned to kill myself. It wasn't an attention-grabbing thing, either, I had elaborate plans with back-up methods of death in case the first didn't work. When my counselor found out, I was sent to a hospital for a week, where they did all sorts of tests and gave me the proper help. It was hard enough to get through it even with my family and a community that's known me for 14 years; if I was on my own in a high-pressure environment I would have fallen apart.</p>
<p>So, actually, expulsion was the best thing to happen for Nott at this point. He should be more worried about living than attending school.</p>
<p>thank you, tkm, for sharing your story. Glad you were able to recover from what I know is a serious illness. Most people have no idea how bad depression can be and how treatment is essential and life-saving.</p>
<p>a psychopath is completely different from someone suffering from depression. a psychopath will have violent tendencies with little or no emotion involved, while depression involves heavy emotions and rarely violence towards others.</p>
<p>Colleges dont care about the individual. The colleges want the money and crunch numbers all day. Its very ugly these days because of the competition to get in. Once the kids get in they check into programs. Performance is everything they kick you out once you demonstrate any emotion. SCARY!</p>