Her son Tom would become deeply depressed in the days after using cocaine on a night out
A mum whose son tragically took his own life following a cocaine 'comedown' has now set up a mental health charity to help others and support families who have lost loved ones to suicide. Nicola Smerdon's youngest son Tom, 22 died in 2019 after he sometimes took the drugs at weekends for recreational purposes, Wales Online reports.
Speaking of her son's nature, she said: "He loved experiencing new things. If a new restaurant opened he had to try it with his girlfriend, and he loved going on holidays with us or with his friends. He was a fun uncle to his two nephews." "After a few days, he would be back to his usual self. It was easy to identify what was causing the problem. We sought help for Tom, but sadly in March 2019 he decided, on a come down from cocaine, that he couldn’t cope anymore."
Nicola said she couldn't stop thinking of families who did not qualify for support and felt 'very lucky' that she received help from the charity. She said: "We had an immediate support person and all our family members were offered counselling. "While chatting to my other children we said: ‘We just need to do this’. Before the funeral we came up with a name for [the charity] and in the funeral we said: ‘This is what we are going to do in Tom’s name’. Apart from helping others, it was a focus for us too."
She wants to help them understand more about what was going on and where they can go for help. She explained: "This week alone, we have 15 people accessing counselling and our support groups can have 10 plus people in them.
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