Both my niece (16 years-old) and nephew (13 years-old) have lost a lot of friends in the past couple of years.  Yesterday, my mom informed me that my niece lost a friend to open heart surgery; she became sick and died.  My nephew lost a friend who was cleaning his rifle -- it went off and killed him.  Why a 13 year-old was cleaning a rifle is beyond me.  Why he was handling a rifle without parental supervision is also beyond me.

It's bad enough teens must deal with the death of loved ones but to lose your friends is another situation.  How do you cope when you lose someone who's not only your own age, but your friend?  Teens probably have many questions about "why" their friend had to die.  When it's a senseless death like a self-inflicted gunshot, it only makes matters worse.

Tips to coping with death

1.  Grieve.  Make sure you take time to grieve for your friend.  There is no time limit on grief.  You'll know when you've finished grieving for your friend.  Remember, your friend is not really gone.  They may be physically gone, but spiritually they live on somewhere else.
2.  Remember the good times.  To help you cope with the death of your friend, remember how much fun they were -- this will make you smile.  They'd want you to be happy, it's ok to laugh and smile when you remember your friend.
3.  Let the tears flow.  Whenever you feel like crying, just do it.  Yes, guys it's all right for you to cry.  This is a great way to release and purge your emotions.
4.  Workout your emotions.  If you have a lot of anger, release your intense emotions by working out.  Kick boxing, karate, hiking, running, yoga, or whatever you like will help you heal.  It's cathartic to release your emotions.  Let all your emotions out in a healthy way.
5.  Journal.  Writing your thoughts and articulating your feelings in a journal can be therapeutic.  Hold nothing back when you journal -- let it all out.  You can draw and write in your journal to express your emotions about your friend's death.

Life doesn't always make sense.  Sometimes events occur that are beyond our control.  You can only control you react situations.  When you lose a friend you'll go through the grieving process which includes:  denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.  Allow the process to occur because you'll heal from your friend's death.  Your emotions will eat you alive if you don't grieve.  Your body can manifest your emotions with a dis-ease.  This is no way to grieve for your friend.

Coping with teen death is not easy for anyone.  Parents lose a child and you lose a best friend.  No, it doesn't make any sense, but that's life.  Make sure you live each day to the fullest because you never know what lies around the corner.