Suicide Among Adolescent Teens

Life is stressful, especially to teens, and every person should know that their life is valued. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, suicide is the third leading cause of death for adolescent teens between the ages of 15 to 19. Teens are committing suicide at an alarming rate because of bullying, signs of depression that is being missed because of teens being afraid to ask for help, and not being able to cope with life.

There are may types of bullying. A student can be verbally harassed, physically assaulted, and cyber bullied.

These types of bullying were related to an increase in suicide risk. (Bullying, Depression, and Suicide Risk in a Pediatric Primary Care, 2016) Students that are a victim of bullying are 2 to 9 times more likely to think about committing suicide than those students that are not bullied (www.bullyingstatistics.org). Bullying in any way is wrong and is a stimulating risk factor for committing suicide among children. Life is stressful enough for student trying to understand where they belong in life. They must worry about bullies at school. Sometimes it is not just at school. Bullying happens when an aggressor feels that they have the upper hand on a person. The bully could be a person that is also being bullied and they are taking their aggression out on others. This could happen at home as well. Parents can also be bullies to a child, physically and verbally. Bullying does not just happen at school. Any child or adult could experience bullying anywhere.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports that about 4,400 adolescents commit suicide each year and many of these cases are from depression not being diagnosed (www.goodtherapy.org). Depression is often overlooked. When a friend states they are thinking of killing themselves, it is usually brushed off as just a joke. Suicide talk is dismissed these days. There was once a saying, if a person got mad with another person, “to go kill yourself”. Why and how did that saying catch on? That was not something that needed to be said to a person in a state of depression. Males are less likely to tell people of their feelings. We teach men that crying is not what men do. In a study done from 1950 to 1990, males were six times greater rate than females (American Academy of Pediatrics p871). White males have the highest suicide rate at 70% in 2017(afsp.org/about-suicide/suicide-statistics). Females are more likely to tell a doctor or a family member they are depressed and need help. One out of seven women develop depression after childbirth (Depression Symptoms and Warning Signs, www.helpguide.org). When teens tell an adult, they are suffering from thoughts of suicide it should be taken to the utmost importance. A teen should never be disciplined for telling an adult they are suffering. If a child cannot go to their parents about a situation, they should be able to go to their teachers or any school faculty. Teens show their depression in different ways. Dr. Angela Battle of the Hazlehurst Pediatrics once said that a child could show many signs of depression that could be diagnosed as another ailment. Sometimes a doctor could diagnose a child with ADD (attention deficit disorder). Some signs of depression are sleeping all the time and getting angry for the smallest things. Paying close attention to a child is always a good thing to do. That does not mean to be a strict parent, but a parent needs to be a parent and not the best friend. Most times a child can confide in a friend when they cannot confide in a family member.

Teens are good at hiding their emotions. It is hard to distinguish what a person is going through on the outside. Often time a person is judged by their appearance, not knowing exactly what is going on inside their minds. Life is hard and coping with stressors in life are even harder. Some may hide problems better than other and some may not. Some stressors in a teen’s life is trying to understand their purpose in life. Teens have school, friends, and home to worry about daily. A major stressor is sexuality. Homosexual adolescents are more likely to experience mental health issues than a heterosexual person (Minority Stress and LGBQ College Students’ Depression: Roles of Peer Group and Involvement). Homosexuals come across more homophobias and bullied. This causes stress among not just the adolescents but the homosexual adolescents. Homosexual adolescents also stress on keeping the secret from others, especially their parents. They do not want to disappoint or embarrass their parents.

As a society we need to learn how to prevent suicide among the adolescents. They are the future. There are signs and symptoms of depression that leads to suicide that we should pay attention to. If a person says they are thinking of killing themselves, we should not take it as a joke and find them help. Since men have some of the highest rates, we should let them know that letting their feelings show is as strong as they try to make themselves look. When a person commits suicide, it does not get rid of a problem that they think they have. Suicide hurts family members and sometimes it is hard to get over. When a person thinks that there is nothing to live for, they need to be reminded that they are loved. Life is worth living and being supportive is what needs to be done. Life is hard for teens and they need to be shown love. A child is one of the most precious gifts in life and their life does not need to be cut short because of others pride or discomfort. Let a child be a child. They do not need to grow up to fast and worry about things in the adult world to early. Never tell a child they are not worth anything or they will never amount to anything. Words do hurt and they hurt deep. A child is more sensitive than an adult and their feelings should be considered on anything that is being done or said. A child’s feelings and emotions should always come before an adult. Children need to be protected no matter what.

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