How Teens Deal With...

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Suicide

Most everyone at some time 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 illnesses, however, often experience much more extreme reactions, reactions that can leave them with hopelessness. And when all hope is lost, some feel that suicide is the only solution. It isn’t.

The feelings that often lead to suicide are highly treatable. That’s why it is important that we better understand the symptoms of the disorders and the behaviors that often accompany thoughts of suicide. With more knowledge, we can often prevent the devastation of losing a loved one. There are many behavioral indicators that can help parents or friends recognize the threat of suicide in a loved one.

Some common indicators are:

• Extreme personality changes
• Loss of interest in activities that used to be enjoyable
• Significant loss or gain in appetite
• Difficulty falling asleep or wanting to sleep all day
• Fatigue or loss of energy
• Feelings of worthlessness or guilt
• Withdrawal from family and friends
• Neglect of personal appearance or hygiene
• Sadness, irritability, or indifference
• Having trouble concentrating
• Extreme anxiety or panic
• Drug or alcohol use or abuse
• Aggressive, destructive, or defiant behavior
• Poor school performance
• Hallucinations or unusual beliefs

There are also some more obvious signs of committing suicide, such as giving or throwing away favorite belongings, and it can’t be stressed more strongly that any talk of death or suicide should be taken seriously and paid close attention to. It is a sad fact that while many of those who commit suicide talked about it beforehand, only 33 percent to 50 percent were identified by their doctors as having a mental illness at the time of their death and only 15 percent of suicide victims were in treatment at the time of their death. Any history of previous suicide attempts is also reason for concern and watchfulness. Approximately one-third of teens who die by suicide have made a previous suicide attempt. It should be noted as well that while more females attempt suicide, more males are successful in completing suicide.

While the reasons that teens commit suicide vary widely, there are some common situations and circumstances that seem to lead to such extreme measures. These include major disappointment, rejection, failure, or loss, such as breaking up with a girlfriend or boyfriend, failing a big exam, or witnessing family turmoil. They are unable to see that their life can turn around, unable to recognize that suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. Usually, the common reasons for suicide listed above are actually not the "causes" of the suicide, but rather triggers for suicide.

Some important facts to think about.

• In 1996, more teenagers and young adults died of suicide than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, pneumonia and influenza, and chronic lung disease combined.

• In 1996, suicide was the second-leading cause of death among college students, the third-leading cause of death among those aged 15 to 24 years, and the fourth- leading cause of death among those aged 10 to 14 years.

• From 1980 to 1996, the rate of suicide among African-American males aged 15 to 19 years increased by 105 percent.

Here is a list of help web sites:

Depressionlife.com

Suicide.com

Suicide.org