Major Depressive Disorder In The Virgin Suicides

Imagine in a place where everyone that you knew all displayed depression and everyone lead to giving up. And you were the only one that saw the world as a beautiful place. How would you help others in need? There would be no one trying to help one another and you were the only one that wanted to help everyone else. What if everyone you knew were getting hurt all the time and were always fighting for no real reason what would you say to try to help them get back on their feet? If you were the one that everybody dependent on what would you tell them to try to solve their problems? Most people don’t know what to do in these sorts of situations. Therefore they look for help or stay in their comfort zone and stay quite as long as they can or solve their own problems. The government has all the power in the United States it is only right that they should spend money on programs for people that may suffer from depression or suicidal thoughts.

As a result of being isolated from others, the girls become depressed. Lux makes the statement "I can't breathe in here" (The Virgin Suicides). The girls become extremely lonely. Even before Cecilia, the youngest daughter, committed suicide the girls were still sheltered. Cecilia's psychiatrist told the parents that the girls needed another social outlet besides school. This proves that it is not healthy for adolescents to not be social. With the girls now without the social outlet of school, the girls became lonely and depressed. According to neuropsychiatrist, Rajesh Parikh, "Alcoholism and suicide become a handmaiden due to loneliness and depression". In other words, people who are lonely and depressed have a higher risk of committing suicide. Since the girls were lonely and depressed, they were at a higher risk of committing suicide.

The Virgin Suicides, by Jeffrey Eugenides, is a novel that deals with the complexities of being a teenager, dealing with related themes such as growing up, loss of innocence, adolescent sexuality, loneliness, unrequited love. These seemingly innocent themes however, develop a darker side, as they lead to the suicides of the main characters- Lux, Bonnie, Celia, Mary and Therese: the 5 Lisbon sisters. The themes of objectification and The Male Gaze also become relevant through the nature of the detached male narrative; The story is told retrospectively through the the viewpoint of an unknown number of anonymous boys, now middle-aged men, who grew up in the same middle class suburban neighbourhood in middle America as the girls. This first person plural narrative, as well as various stylistic devices such as diction, imagery, metaphors and tone all affect the way the Lisbon sisters are represented to the reader.

Suicide is the act of killing yourself. It is the 11th leading cause of death in America (CDC 2009). I have never had any intentions on committing suicide and I never really understood why people commit suicide that’s why I chose this topic to help me understand what problems people go through that makes them do such a thing. Sociology is the study of social behavior and the culture of humans. There are numerous reasons like financial stress, family problems or mental health disorders that lead to suicide. The number one cause of suicide is untreated depression. The issues that were just listed are some social conditions from society that results in a suicidal

Researchers conduct hypotheses that suicide could be contagious. Researchers had a total of 22,064 individuals ages 12 to 17. When conducting the study they met on cycles to monitor the exposure to suicide. All groups which were separated into age had an outcome of 95% of exposure to suicide. Researchers also questioned how often certain groups were or had feelings of depression or suicidal thoughts from stressful events during the cycles. In further research, 24.1% from the ages 16 and 17 responded that someone from school has committed suicide and which 20.1%

In Jeffrey Eugenides’ novel the Virgin Suicides, isolation, ignorance, and selfishness are depicted throughout the story. In order to protect their precious daughters from the danger of the outside world, Mr. Lisbon and Mrs. Lisbon have came up with a solution, which is to basically isolate their daughters from the world. Even before the Lisbon sisters’ very first suicide attempt, which was done by Cecilia slitting her wrist in the bathtub, they have been isolating and restricting their girls in every way possible: how they dress, what they put on their face, how they smell like, where they go, what they do, what they say and listen to, and who they spend their time with.

The major depressive disorder in her was characterized by low mood and the worsening relationship with her family members. She did not get along well with her mother considering that she was emotionally and physically tortured.

One of the first causes of the suicide at the young people is depression. “According to a survey done using the psychological autopsy method, 70–90% of those who committed suicide had evidence of some mental disorder when alive, and 60–70% were depressed.” (TAKAHASHI, 2001) We consider that approximately 10 % of young adult know a period of depression, and that two thirds of them are females. “Women are twice as likely as men to have depression.” (D. Smith,

Durkheim argues that the suicide rate is a social factor that can be interpreted as an indicator for social solidarity within a society (http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF01114474).

Depression is an everlasting issue that sometimes never seems to go away. Many people around the world struggle with depression while others cannot grasp the concept that depression is a big deal and it’s not something you can just get rid of. What role does the media play in dealing with depression? Does the media give positive feedback or negative feedback? Demi Lovato wrote the song “Warrior” that addresses the issue of depression and the overcoming process that comes with it when analyzed using a cultural lens.

Throughout the world of suburbia, there seems to be a persistence of communities who attempt to create a perfect, enclosed world for the whole of the community to live in. By providing for everything that the inhabitants would ever want, suburbia is able to close itself off from those around it that it deems unworthy of belonging. While this exclusivity helps to foster the sense of community, it can also bring with it isolation from the outside, and also from within, and have disastrous results. Throughout the semester, there have been a number of works that have dealt the issue of isolation, but the greatest representation of a work whose physical qualities in its representation of suburbia help to

Many people at one point in their life have experienced the feeling of hopelessness. Hopelessness is described as a feeling of despair. Most people experience despair after a death, trauma, or being separated from a person or thing. Out in the world today, there are so many outlooks and strategies that are willing to help with this feeling of hopelessness. Outlooks such as people or even making plans and setting goals. Setting small goals and accomplishing them are a great way to boost self-esteem and prevent or reduce hopelessness. Hopelessness can lead to issues such as depression, low self-esteem, and suicide. These people may be able to use the bible to help them to cope with hopelessness. For example, Isiah 40-55 is a great explanation on how to restore hope.

A new study suggested that extended use of electronic devices, such as laptops, smartphones, and tablets may cause symptoms of depression in teens. According to the researchers from the San Diego State University and Florida State University that people, particularly teens, who spend more time in social media are more vulnerable to develop depression.

Suicide is currently the 10th leading cause of death in the United States (Suicide and Self-Inflicted Injury, 2017). On average, 121 Americans complete suicide each day (CDC Fatal Injuries Report 2015, 2015). The American people are living longer with advances to medical care and technology, yet suicide rates continue to rise. According to the CDC, suicide rates have increased by 24% from the year 1999 to 2014 (Curtain, Warner & Hedegaard, 2016). Consequently, the suicide epidemic continues to grow with no clear path to prevention. This literature review was conducted using the Robert Morris University Library online databases. Databases accessed include PubMed…………., from the years 2000 to 2017. Overall, most the articles obtained are

For some teens, striving for perfection has led to harming their own health and wellbeing such as living with depression and suicide. Teenagers today are relying on what they see in ads, T.V., magazines and on the internet for their input on appearances, the way they think not only comes from media sources, but from family and friends.