Organization
Teenage suicide is a severe issue in a lot of societies of the world. Suicide is simply defined as an act of taking or ending one's life intentionally. Statistically speaking, then suicide has become the third most common cause of death amongst the teens today. Causes are generally emotional and psychological. Suicide among teenagers is prominent primarily because of the emotional rush that they go through in puberty. In this paper we shall try to understand teenage suicide in a better way by specifically addressing to symptoms, causes and so on. Ending life is no solution, but what becomes so impactful that it drives them to attempt suicide is what has become the need of the hour amongst psychologists, educationists and at last parents.
There is a particular set of signs and symptoms that exhibits suicidal tendencies. Frequently mentioning death, abrupt behavior and expressing that no one cares for them are most common. The need for care and attention drives them to depression. Dramatic changes in personality (generally aggressive), withdrawal from family and social circuits, giving up sentimental possessions are also important signs of children experiencing some suicidal tendency. Statistics prove that girls are prone for such behavior and contemplate suicide because they become overtly emotional at this age as compared to boys. They might be seen sitting with knives, blades, or poisons. Males generally go for more lethal methods like guns or arms if they catch hold of one ( from their homes itself). The free ammunition can prove to be source of relaxation for the person as she or he need not go and look for the same outside. Constant peeking and being around the room where the ammunitions are kept should definitely alarm the parents.
Causes
As stated above, depression is the main force that drives teens to end their lives. Again, reasons for depression and emotional turbulences could be many. It is observed that children who have seen broken families or violence in the house are more vulnerable to attempting suicide. Other reasons include feelings of worthlessness (may be on the basis of personality and looks which is major concern among teens) and the henceforth rejection by peers. Sometimes even peer pressure could lead to suicide straightaway. Bullying is one big cause. Bullying in school or neighborhoods can also make the child feel inferior. It is one of the leading causes of suicide today. Even children aged between 10 and 14 go for suicide because they have been bullied so much and they do not have a way out. They do not have the strength to fight back, hence try taking their own lives feeling useless and helpless. Bullying is an important issue in schools today. Then Substance abuse like drugs and alcohol and death of people close to the heart of the person can drive them to end their lives as well. In fact reasons of sorrow can drive the person straight to drugs and alcohol, then depression and ultimately suicide. Teens assume that the drugs or alcohol might be the best way to escape or not feel depressed. A lot of studies have been conducted in this area proving that substance abuse is part of the attempted suicide, a cause or sign of it. In order to fight the loneliness or any other sort of emotional breakdown, the teens reach out for drugs and alcohol. It is also then becomes a cause of crime amongst teens as the consumption of it is illegal. They might then indulge in Stealing and black marketing and put their lives at risk in desperation because they become addicted.
Drugs and alcohol thus entails reckless behavior. It is proven that teens who take drugs are definitely contemplating suicide as they are suffering some emotional or mental breaks down. According to the men's health magazine, alcohol kills more teenagers than any other age group. The problem is not the consumption of alcohol but the fact that they become addicted and cannot handle it. Some become seriously ill. The drugs as stated above affect mood and behavior but also affect one's health and it starts deteriorating. One common area is the brain where they affect severely.
Preventing teen suicide
Considering how grave the issue of suicide is, drastic steps should be taken and it should be ensured that how it could be prevented and eliminated. The best way to do so is too give them full attention. Teens are very emotional and highly sensitive. 75 per cent of them commit suicide due to depression of some kind. The question then becomes why are they driven to such a state and if they are and should not be neglected by the parents and teachers. Talking things out becomes a great way of doing this because the person shall have a window to vent her or his feelings and not keep them within. The parents should ensure this and in a way they also then keep a track of their child's life.
Familial support and encouragement can lead to solution of the problems. Families that have seen abuse or are broken, it is observed that children of those families are not able to takl their problems with their family. The family also becomes neglected towards the needs of the child and hence it leads to discord. Financial problems are another reason that leads them to suppress their desires and not talking it out with parents. The parents should understand that their children should be their first priority. Apart from providing the financial support, emotional support is equally important to them. Teenagers generally crave for attention from parents when they do not respond. They attempt at taking alcohol and reckless behavior just because they grab attention from their parents' busy lives. They feel worthless and thus there is not emotional connection that they feel with their parents. Parents should support their children in their decision, guide them and lead them. Instead of imposing and being stringent, they should be gentle and soft-spoken with their teenage kids. There is a lot that goes in a teenage mind and it coked very well extend to suicide. So one should not take risks with teenagers. Also educationists and teachers in schools should pay a higher amount of attention because school is also an equally important place. Parents should supervise their child’s activities but it should not seem to them that you 'spy' on them. They may become aggressive and start staying out and spending time outside. They would start refraining from the parents which becomes the beginning of the road that ultimately leads to suicide. Thus prevention from suicide requires the very first steps made by the parents to indulge theme emotionally
Apart from the familial support that cans easily eliminate loneliness, professional help could be taken in terms of counseling when matters become severe. The counselor provides techniques to cope with the problem and deal with the situation by being strong. Medication and treatment facilities help in getting rid of the addiction from drugs and alcohol. Some facilities also aim at becoming permanent therapeutic boarding schools where the child is under complete supervision and offer counseling help. Other options include anti depressant drugs, which have proved good for eliminating depression and its repercussions.
Teenage suicide is something as common as accident or murder these days. Therefore it becomes important to understand how and why it committed is and it should be prevented. After all no parent wants their children to die by taking their own life. According to a center of disease control and prevention study 27 per cent of high school kids contemplate suicide, 16 per cent plan it and almost 8 to 10 per cent actually commit it successfully. It is not a small percentage meaning 100 out of 1000 actually kill themselves. The issues therefore are a huge concern for parents and thus in the first place it is important for them to ensure that their child does not suffer any kind of turbulences. Respect, compassion and conversation can solve all the problems and children do not take this ugly road of suicide.
Works cited
"Teen Suicide Overview." . N.p.. Web. 6 Dec 2013. <http://www.teensuicidestatistics.com/>.
"Teen Suicide: An Introduction." TEEN SUICIDE. N.p.. Web. 6 Dec 2013. <http://susan-scheff.org/>.
"Final Paper- Teenage Suicide." . N.p., 21 Apr 2011. Web. 6 Dec 2013. <http://rowancomp2.wordpress.com/2011/04/21/final-paper-teenage-suicide/>.
