THE grief of suicide is never left in the past, in fact, it gets more difficult, according to one Dunfermline family.

Teenager Neil Scott was just 19 when he took his own life three weeks into the millennium in January 2000.

Although it has been almost 20 years since the tragic incident, his family are still feeling the effects of their loss.

He left behind his parents, Sandy and Janice, and siblings, Euan and Lesley, and, over the years, they experienced everything from guilt to depression to job loss.

"I would actually say it's getting more difficult because it's harder to speak about him now," Janice said.

"When it is all new and raw you just do it but it hurts a lot more now.

"At the time, there was nothing and we had to find our own support with The Compassionate Friends (a charity offering support after the death of a child at any age) and, 19 years later, we are still a part of it.

"Milestones are hard – Euan didn't have a best man when he got married four years ago because he wanted Neil.

"It would be Neil's 40th next year and going to weddings is very hard."

Neil had been to the GP a few times regarding his mental health as he tried to take his life a few times before his death, suffering from paranoia.

But at the same time, his family say he was "just Neil" and still enjoyed going out with his friends.

Janice continued: "With Neil, we were up against a brick wall.

"When he turned 18, I think that was when it all went wrong – he joined the Navy even though we told him not to.

"Looking back, to be honest, you can see issues that we know now but at the time you were just so ignorant, you just thought he was a normal teenager."

Sandy said: "He was totally unsettled, he didn't know what to do with his life.

"He was a well-liked boy and had loads of friends.

"He joined the Navy but didn't like it so asked to leave and it just fits into what we know now that he started jobs and then just left.

"It was very frustrating."

On the day that Neil took his life, his parents say his mood was great and that he had gone out for the night with his friends but, the next morning, the family answered the door to the police who had found his body in the public park.

Janice and Sandy had no reason for concern as Neil would often spend the whole night out staying with friends.

"We thought Neil never looked so good," Sandy added.

"I would never have guessed he would have done that.

"I thought that day, 'Neil has turned a corner here'.

"At the time, and I think it is still the same, the medical profession doesn't put enough into mental health issues.

"Neil was taking tablets like his sister is now but they seem to give you this medication and there is no follow-up."

Sandy continued: "After a suicide, you feel a lot of blame.

"Our other son, Ewan, doesn't know why his brother didn't speak to him.

"In my case, you try to pigeonhole and tuck things away. In one incident, Neil tried to jump off the Forth Road Bridge – I went to collect him and just went back to work.

"To this day, I don't why I did that.

"The thing for me is that soon he'll be longer dead that he was alive."

For Janice, the day came when she suffered from her own depression as a consequence of the tragic circumstances around her.

"They call it the ripple effect," Janice said.

"There were things we couldn't even say to each other because we didn't want to say something hurtful.

"I lost my job because I was given an ultimatum with taking time off and as a result, we lost our big house in Pitcorthie.

"It's awful – it just affects everyone from our parents to his friends.

"My advice for anyone now is to encourage your children to be open – I think that's the way to do it."

Sandy's advice: "When I first started going to Compassionate Friends I wasn't comfortable.

"And now I can speak to guys who have just lost kids.

"Going through this has helped me be open."