The mum of a West Lothian man who took his own life before Christmas has told how he was a "tortured soul" since he was a young boy and tried to hide his feelings to protect others.
Debbieanne Marriott’s life was torn apart in December when her loving lad Jamie Aitchison tragically passed away leaving his family and two younger brothers distraught.
Jamie's friends and loved ones say he was always the life and soul of the party and his smile would light up the room.
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But beneath that, Jamie was a “tortured soul” who ended his life in December last year after struggling with mental health issues since he was a child - and more so as he got older with drug and alcohol addiction.
Jamie would always do his best to hide how he was feeling, instead making sure those around him were happy until everything became too much and he decided to take his life a few weeks before Christmas, aged 20.
His mum said she had done everything she could to help her oldest boy and knew in the weeks before his death that he was finding things particularly hard.
She said the shock of losing him has hit her family hard, especially his two brothers, Bailey, 17 and Oscar, 9.
But the brave mum has now thrown herself into setting up a charity in Jamie’s memory to help young people cope with their mental health issues, so no other family has to endure what hers has.
Later this year she’ll launch Jamie’s Sanctuary with his friend Cammy Moore to raise awareness of issues around mental health and addiction.
Remembering her son, Debbieanne said: “Jamie was a free spirit, Jamie did whatever Jamie wanted to do, even as a young child he never liked being told what to do.
“He was the life and soul of the party, but underneath that, it wasn’t the real Jamie. He was a tortured soul and just because somebody looks OK, it doesn’t mean they are.
“I know myself I can cover my pain with humour. Jamie was very similar and he was just trying to hide and run away from himself.
“I knew he was struggling, he had been a tortured soul since he was a wee boy. I had been to all sorts of places over the years and as he got older and found drugs and alcohol, that’s when things started to spiral.
“I knew he was finding things hard, especially in the last two weeks and he did come to me and said ‘I need help’ and I took him to a couple of meetings, but I think just the time of year it was and the age he was, he just found it really hard.”
Debbieanne continued: “I miss everything about him. I find it really hard without him, he was just such a big character.
“He’s my eldest son, so he’s been through everything with me. He was like my best pal and his death has touched so many people.”
Debbieanne says helping young people with addiction will be an important aspect of Jamie’s Sanctuary.
She said: “Addiction is an illness, it’s all part of mental health and it was just a solution for Jamie to get out of his head when he was stuck in that dark place. That was his solution.”
Debbieanne said Jamie’s Sanctuary will also aim to raise awareness of mental health issues to keep “Jamie’s memory alive”.
She continued: “The main understructure of the charity will be prevention of suicide and mental health and addiction and advocacy work with young people in Scotland.
“My first project will be a mental health bus and I’ll be looking into statistics to see what places are more deprived and in most need and have this bus moving from place to place on weekends to start with.
“And, as a charity, I’ll also be looking to support other charities, like Neil’s Hugs, so we can work alongside each other.
I’m in the early stages of getting legal documents and processes and I’m hoping to have it all done by September because my first charity event is then, when Jamie’s grandpa, who’s 73, is walking the West Highland Way to raise money.”
She added: “It’s so important to get the message out there to support each other.”
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Jamie’s pal Cammy, 21, has been instrumental in helping Debbieanne set up Jamie’s Sanctuary.
He said: “Jamie really was the best friend ever. He was always the life and soul, he would always lift people’s spirits, he had the brightest smile and was always that person that lit up the room.
“But he was like that because he felt so bad himself and he didn’t want anyone else to feel that way, so he always tried to lift everyone’s spirits, because he himself was feeling down.
“Jamie’s passing has shaken everybody, even members of the public, it’s not just been his family and friends. He was a well-known guy, everybody knew Jamie. It was just a shock to everybody.
“It’s been a terrible couple of months and anything we can do to help other young people in the same boat as Jamie is a step in the right direction.”
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