Confronting Teen Suicide

By Franklin Schargel for GuidanceChannel.com

It doesn’t seem right that a young person between the ages of 11 and 19, who has lived for such a short time and has a long life ahead, would choose to die. However, if you look up “teenage suicide’ at google.com, you’ll bring up 1,100,000 “hits” -- and with good reason.

Did you know?

• In the next 24 hours 1,439 teens will attempt suicide. As many as 250,000 adolescents made a serious unsuccessful effort to kill themselves last year.
• Every 90 minutes a teenager or young adult is successful in killing themselves.
• According to experts, suicide is the third leading cause of teenage deaths after automobile accidents and homicide. Almost as many teens die from suicide as the fourth through the tenth leading causes of death combined.
• The suicide rate in the past 25 years has been decreasing, yet the rate for those between 15 and 24 has tripled. The adolescent suicide rate is nearly 33% higher than that of the overall population.
• Many youths have sought help in the month before the suicide.
• The ratio of male to female suicides is four to one. However young women attempt suicide nine times more frequently. Guns are the most common means of suicide among males. Pills are the most commonly used method of suicide for females.
• White males have had the highest increase in suicide, which rose 50% between 1970 and 1978. The incidence for white females increased 12%. Suicide among young blacks has also dramatically increased.
• Half of all children who have made one suicide attempt will make another, sometimes as many as two a year until they succeed.

What are the causes?

Depression

Teens who are feeling suicidal may see no other way out of their problems, no other escape from emotional pain or no one to talk to about how they feel. Depression expresses itself in a variety of ways including: changes in appetite; variations in activity level; loss of sleep; lack on interest in activities that normally give pleasure; social withdrawal; and thoughts of death or punishment.

Substance Abuse Problems

Alcohol and some drugs are depressants. Youth who are depressed may take these substances thinking that they will help ease the pain. However, in reality, they only make situations worse. Substance abuse clouds our judgment and interferes with our ability to assess risk, make good choices, and identify solutions to our problems.

Teenage Stress

There are many pressures on teenagers, many that they have never experience before. These include social, academic, personal, sexual, and relationship pressures. Some teens struggle with weight and eating problems, while others face learning difficulties in school. These risk factors, as well as getting in trouble in school or with the law and fighting with parents, are risk factors for suicide. A traumatic event like a breakup, failing a test, an unintended pregnancy or getting into an accident can also bring on suicidal tendencies.

Violence

Violence is everywhere – in the media, our neighborhoods, and even our homes. Access to the tools of violence, And it is easier to get the tools (guns and pills) of suicide. If there is a gun in the home, youths are 5 times more likely to commit suicide than in homes without a gun.

Lack of parental interest

Many children grow up in single –parent households. Others have two working parents. According to one study, 90% of suicidal teenagers believed their families did not understand them.

Data show that families are spending less time together and more of our young people are spending more and more time in front of television screens.

What are the warning signs?

The list below lists the most prevalent causes of youth suicide. The list is not all-inclusive, but should assist educators in identifying the most common warning signs. Not all youngsters who exhibit these signs will commit suicide. However the greater the number of warning signs, the greater the likelihood of suicide predictors. Youth are most at risk of attempting suicide are those who:

• made previous suicide attempts;
• talk about committing suicide;
• feel that “it is all their fault” ;
• exhibit anger;
• manifest signs of serious depression, moodiness, hopelessness, withdrawal;
• are loners;
• increase use of drugs or alcohol;
• change their sleeping or eating habits;
• cry often;
• are chronically or suddenly truant;
• give away possessions;
• recently experienced the suicide of a loved one or family member;
• have a preoccupation with death and dying;
• lose interest in their personal appearance;
• suffer through turmoil within family (divorce, remarriage, separation, merging of two families) ;
• have a family history of suicide;
• recently faced stressful events or loss in their lives;
• can easily access lethal methods, especially guns;
• exhibit rebellious behavior or run away;
• struggle to concentrate or show a decline in quality of school work;
• lose interest in previously pleasurable activities;
• give verbal hints, such as “I won’t be a problem for you much longer,” or “Nothing matters” ;
• encounter conflicts around sexual orientation;
• go through a romantic break up;
• are under increased pressure to perform, achieve, and/or be responsible; and/or
• take unnecessary risks.

The greater the number of warning signs, the greater the risk.

What can educators do?

1. While no one single symptom – or even a combination of factors is a predictor of suicide. If you suspect that a student is suicidal, teachers and students should tell a counselor or an administrator.

2. Always take suicidal comments very seriously. If a student says that he or she is thinking about suicide, you need to take the comments seriously. If you assume that the person is only seeking attention, you may be making a serious and potentially fatal decision.

3. Listen attentively to everything that a potential suicide person has to say. Encourage the person talk as much as he or she wants to. Listen closely so that you can be as supportive as possible, and learn as much as possible about what is cause the pain.

4. Comfort the person with words of encouragement. There is no script to follow in these situations.

5. Don’t lecture or point out all the reasons a person has to live. Instead, listen and reassure the individual that depression and suicidal tendencies can be treated.

6. If you suspect that the individual is at high risk of suicide, do not leave the person alone. If you are in doubt, call 911.

7. Know your limits. Most of us have not been trained in how to handle situations like this. Be supportive; listen attentively; let the person know that you are deeply concerned.

8. There are a number of local suicides “hotlines." Their numbers are listed in your local telephone directories. Check the numbers in front of your telephone director