It's Kind Of A Funny Story By Kidd Vizzini

Teenagers experience strong feelings of stress, confusion, self-doubt, and pressure to succeed while growing up. These are fears that teens face every day and suicide may seem like the solution to their problems. There are many signs for parents to watch for in teenagers: changes in eating and sleeping habits, drug or alcohol abuse, violent actions, rebellious behavior, frequent complaints, and withdrawal from family and friends. Many of these signs and symptoms can be similar to depression. It is important for parents, teachers, and physicians to be aware of these symptoms in adolescents. (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, October 2013).

The novel “It’s Kind of a Funny Story” by Ned Vizzini says a lot about adolescent mental illness and how teenagers cope with stress. The main character, Craig Gilner, is a freshman in the Executive Pre-Professional High School, the most prestigious school in his area. He studied for weeks to pass the test to get in, but once he succeeded he felt overwhelmed by school work and anxiety until he stopped eating, started doing drugs, and eventually admitted himself into a mental health ward for suicidal thoughts. Of course, I’ve never experienced that kind of severe depression or been in a mental ward, but I could easily relate to Craig as a teenager with my fair share of school-related stress. Craig shared a lot of qualities with me, like his ambition, social life, and many aspects of his personality.

The book, It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini features a teen boy named Craig, who suffers from depression. Craig goes to regular therapy lessons in an attempt to ‘cure’ his sadness and intense amount of stress. Vizzini describes this stress admirably by showing Craig’s thought process. This quote stood out because of the way Craig describes his stresses as a made up term, Tentacles. Vizzini allows the reader to see how Craig’s anxiety can affect his decisions, and how much thought goes into each and every choice he makes. This reveals a significant part to Craig’s character. Vizzini writes, “[...] which meant I’d get depressed, and that was the big one because I knew what that did to me: it made it so I wouldn’t get out of bed, which

Ms. Sanders is a 13 year old female who presented to the ED With her mother for recent suicidal ideation without a plan and depression. Dr. Keith requested an assessment. At the time of the assessment Ms. Sanders denies suicidal ideation, homicidal ideation, and symptoms of psychosis. She reports feelings overwhelmed and depressed to the the many extracurricular activities she is engaged in at school and in the community. Ms. Sander also reports recently coping with becoming aware of her boyfriend of 3 months going into a detox facility this morning. She expressed having to deal with the stress of attempting to help him as been challenging. Ms. Sanders reports these stressors have contributed to her distress and has cause her to feel depressed

Life is a cyclical journey of ups and downs; some of us have a difficult time getting through it in good spirits. However we get through it, and if we’re lucky, we grow old with a story to tell. Some of us just don’t make it; our lives are sometimes claimed too soon, sometimes by our own hand.. Why do people take their own lives? The seemingly selfish act begs the question, “Do they care at all about the traumatizing effects suicide has on their loved ones left behind? People need to know that all situations are temporary, with feasible solutions that enrich their lives; no temporary issue is worth committing suicide.. Many young adults face destructive, harmful, and suicidal thoughts daily. . The statistics show high rates of suicide in all demographics; young adults, however, are exponentially higher... With the many pressures of everyday life, there are many reasons why young adults turn to such a permanent act as suicide. Some suffer broken spirits from bullying, personality disorders, drug addictions, eating disorder; the list can go on and on. However, studies show the most common reason that young adults commit suicide is, mental illness. There are many forms of mental illness,

Craig’s life was very stressful, dealing with mental illness, on top of 4 plus hours of homework every night, and trying to spend time with friends. Craig has this mental habit he calls “Cycling” and that’s what led him to kill himself, “Over and over again, a cycling of tasks, of failures, or problems. I’m young but I’m already screwing up my life.” It’s just a build up of all the stress that he represses or doesn’t deal with. He doesn’t know how to manage his stress, yet. “My brain doesn’t want to think anymore, it wants to do.” Craig realizes that he can’t just sit around thinking, letting his brain “cycle”, he just has to do. His perspective shifts. Craig learned how to deal with his mental illnesses.

Throughout most of the book, Craig grapples with depression and eating issues. His depression causes him to vomit every time he tries to eat. Craig can rarely hold down even small meals, causing him a tremendous amount of embarrassment. This helps Craig's “relationship” with food worsen. This results in him feeling like an outsider and it also affects his sense of belonging because he feels as if he does not fit in with his friends or family. When Craig is at home, no one around him can fully understand what he is going through making it really tough for him to cope with his problems. Craig needs people around him who have gone through what he is now, and without having those people around him, Craig continues to get worse.

With the pressure that our generation endures, we are divided amongst the mentally stable and well, the not so stable. For a large portion, almost one million people each year, it has resulted in many lives lost. “Suicide is the third leading cause of death for people age 15 to 24” with “someone committing suicide every 18 minutes in the United States” (Twenge 108). It can be challenging to understand why someone would choose to take their own their life. “Suicide is a desperate attempt to escape suffering that has become unbearable” (“Suicide Prevention” par 3). With so many unrealistic expectations, no wonder it is so hard for us. Many people who face suicidal thoughts are too scared of mentioning their feelings to others, although most do not realize that quite a few individuals around them are facing the same anxiety. Just recently, my close friend Chris began showing signs of possible suicidal actions. This was new for me and I was never able to fully comprehend how or why he felt that way. “No one will be able to understand how he feels,”

Students faces challenges and pressure by peers to do wrong daily. Whether peer pressure, depression, or in the worst of cases suicidal thoughts and actions. Depression seems to affect children and teenagers nationwide. Unfortunately those with depression begin inflicting physical pain upon themselves to cope with the exterior pain. Along with physical pain, emotional issues arise in themselves. Overreaction to simple things and the feeling of being unloved by family leave lasting effects on those depressed. Eventually social problems cause them to leave themselves out of every event and gathering. Burdening problems often are not released due to feeling uncomfortable around people. These adolescents with depression face physical,

When students don’t have access to adequate resources in social and school settings that afford them the opportunity to decompress and find support for their mental well-being, they run a higher risk of falling into a more severe state of depression. The film, The Edge of Seventeen, examines the life of a seventeen-year-old high school girl named Nadine Byrd and her struggles. The movie focuses on the issue of depression and suicidal thoughts and the impact her teacher has on her decisions. The scenes involving Nadine and Mr. Bruner depict the importance of school mental health professionals as mentors for students experiencing dangerous

Suicide is deliberately taking one’s own life, in the United States this continues to be a serious problem and is the third leading cause of death among adolescents. With rates of suicide among young people doubling over the past fifty years. Teenagers who experience a sudden trauma growing up can intensify negative feelings and for some teens suicide is the solution they turn to escape their stresses and problems. One of the myths of suicidal talk amongst adolescents is that it is often a ploy used to gain attention or help. Rather than dealing with these threats, they are often seen as a bluff and are dismissed. However, the threat of suicide should never be cast aside, it is crucial to respond to these threats to avoid a negative

More than 90% of young people who die from suicide have been diagnosed with at least one mental health disorder. The compounding effects can cause mayhem for children. Mental health disorders can lend to feelings of hopelessness and isolation. These disorders can also impact a teen’s physical health, school performance and social interactions. J is a 15-year-old, middle child of 3; he is also the only boy. The household he resides in consists of himself, his two other siblings, his mother, and his stepfather. His biological chooses not to be in his life after the divorce of his mother, even though J has reached out. His mother relationship with his biological father was abusive and because of it she now suffers from PSTD. His older sister has

Talking about your struggles and stresses is taboo, and as an adolescent in today’s society there are an ever growing number of struggles and stresses to deal with. It is hard enough going through puberty, discovering who you are, dealing with homework and good grades all whilst transitioning to adulthood. As a society, we have added numerous other stresses like relationships, sexuality and social media. Additionally, these stresses become triggers for adolescent mental health issues. One of the most taboo areas of mental health in adolescents is self-harm.

Suicide has been rising at a dramatic rate over the years. It is difficult to gather enough evidence on suicide victims if the individual rarely had any relationships with family, friends, and peers. This article discusses and explores the developmental history of ten young males between the ages of 18-30 who have committed suicide while transitioning to or were already in adulthood. These group of men have never committed an act of suicide nor have received medical treatment in mental health in their past (Rasmussen, Haavind, Dieserud, & Dyregrov, 2014). A group of researchers have conducted in-depth interviews with close family members and friends in an effort to gather more information on the ten male victims. The feedback they receive proves that not all suicide victims show signs of abnormal mental health and past suicide attempts. It can be triggered by many factors such as stress, vulnerability, fear, and anger.

Adolescence is an interesting stage of development and is the fifth stage of Erikson stages of development .According to Erikson adolescence is a time of searching for one’s own identity and developing a sense of autonomy. Trying on different “selves” is a common mental and behavioral activity of adolescents who are in the process of developing an internally anchored sense of who they are, rather than defining themselves by what others think or expect of them including their parents (Erikson, 1968). Many normal and well behaved adolescents can be quite dramatic, impulsive and egocentric in their behavior, but a depressed adolescent who is impulsive and dramatic can be dangerous. The three journals reviewed explain the impact of psychosocial factors that affects adolescent’s behavior both on an individual and on a broader societal level, and psychosocial environmental risk factors for suicide attempts in adolescents. Identity crisis is a necessary turning point, a crucial moment, when development must move one way or another, marshaling resources of growth, recovery, and further differentiation (Erikson 1968). In these articles certain factors around the children that can influence this crisis in a positive or negative way were properly analyzed. Factors considered were abusive experiences in childhood, which contribute to identity crisis and requires social support. Parental support was mentioned in all the articles; this shows that