By the time it takes you to read this another teenager may have commited or attempted suicide.
Teenage Suicide nationwide has drastically increased in recent years. Suicide is the third leading cause of death for 15-24 year olds and the sixth leading cause of death for 5-14 year olds.
Most everyone at sometime in his or her life will experience periods of anxiety, sadness, and despair. These are normal reactions to the pain of loss, rejection, or disappointment. Those with serious mental illness of ten experience much more extreme reactions, reactions that can leave them hopeless. And when all hope is lost, some feel that suicide is the only solution, but it's not.
Suicide is the act of deliberatly killing oneself. Every year about 4,000 teens in the United States commit sucide. One could just imagine a person so depressed that they are thinking about suicide, something much worse then death.
English: Maj. Gen. Mark Graham speaks openly about...
Detail of The Death of Socrates. A disciple is han...
English: United States Army Suicide Prevention Pos...Teens need adult guidance more then ever to understand all the emotional and physical changes they are experiencing.
An average of eleven people between 15-24 die everyday from suicide. The fastest growing age group for suicide is the 10-14 year olds. The majority of adolescents who die by suicide use firearms.
For some teenagers, divorce, the formation of a new family with step-parents and step-siblings, or moving to a new community can be very unsettling and can intensify self-doubts. In some cases, suicide appears to be a solution.
Teenagers experience strong feelings of stress, confusion, self-doubt, pressure to succeed, financial uncertainty, and other fears while growing up.
Many symptoms of suicidal feelings are similar to those of depression. Parents should be aware of the following signs of adolescents who may try to kill themselves.
~ Change in eating and sleeping habits
~ Withdrawal from friends and family
~ Violent actions, rebellious behavior, or running away
~ Drug and alcohol use
~ Unusual neglect of personal appearance
~ Marked personality change
~ Persistant boredom, difficulty concentrating, or a decline in the quality of schoolwork
~ Frequent complaints about physical symptoms often related to emotions, such as stomachache, headache, fatigue......
~ Loss of interest in pleasurable activities
~ Not tolerating praise of rewards
If a child or teen says, "I want to kill myself" or "I'm going to commit suicide," always take the statement seriously and seek evaluation from a child and adolescent psychiatrist or other physician. Evidence indicates that for every suicide, there are 50 to 100 attempts far out-number actual suicides. Males are more likely to choose violent methods which accounts for the fact that male attmepts are more likely to be successful.
Teen suicide is a very important matter in the world today. The more the world learns on suicide and the better we understand the reasons for suicide, raises the chances of prevention and helping others in need. If we could stop one life a day that is 365 saved lives per year. It may not sound like much compared to the 4,000, but at least it's a start and maybe those people will help other like them and it will be a chain reaction.