One of the most difficult things you will ever do is ask a friend, a loved one, your life partner, “Are you considering suicide?” You think he or she might be. She seems distant, isolated, brooding, but you have no idea why. He won’t talk about whatever is bothering him. There is something you need to know: You may think that person will come and talk to you when they really need someone to listen, but they may not talk to you. They don’t want to be a burden. They are failing in so many ways, at least from their own perspective. They hold everything inside, perhaps fearing that it is another failure because they just can’t suck up whatever is wrong and deal with it. There may be reasons you cannot begin to speculate.