Teen Suicide

The rate of suicide, the act or an instance of taking one's own life voluntarily and intentionally, increases each year. “More adolescents die each year from suicide than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, pneumonia, influenza, and chronic lung disease, combined” (Preventing Teen Suicide, 2016, p.2). These facts show suicide is a serious problem among teens. Last year, teen suicide became the second leading cause of death in the United States confirming the significant increase in teen suicides.

Boys are more likely than girls to die from suicide; however, girls are more likely to report attempting suicide with 81% of the suicide deaths in the 10 to 24 age group identified as males and 19% were females (“Suicide Among Youth,” 2013, para. 4). Therefore, addressing suicide prevention during a time that children are more acceptable to learning is ideal. Youth spend a significant amount of time in school; accordingly, schools should provide extensive training and information to the students in regards to suicide prevention. Unfortunately, individuals that die by suicide are not a certain age, a certain race, or part of a particular economic status. Thoughts of suicide can enter a person’s mind at any time which is why it is important to start suicide prevention education before the onset of situational factors that have the potential of developing suicidal thought. Schools are a naturally important place for students to receive

“Each year in the U.S., thousands of teenagers commit suicide” and thousands more consider doing it (Otsuki-Peterson-Kim). Younger children typically the ages 10-14 do not attempt suicide. However, children in their late teens and possibly early twenties are more likely to do so. Overall, suicide has always been a concern, but recently the rate has

Approximately 24% of 12-17 year olds have considered suicide, and up to 10% have attempted suicide (Shannonhouse et al. 3). Being informed about the resources schools have on suicide, needs to be taught at a young age; teachers, educators, and parents need to educate their children. College students have a lot of stress upon them, and they do not always know the resources on suicide. According to the article “Suicide Awareness, and Attitudes in College Students,” from a study of more than 1,800 students, almost 24% of college students had seriously considered suicide (Cerel et al. 46). Suicide affects many people in the United States, including college students; two recent articles examine whether suicide intervention in K-12 schools affects the number of students committing suicide.

We have all experienced this feeling at least once in our life; the feeling of not being good enough, the feeling of always getting the short end of the stick one would say. Some individuals have felt this for only a few days, some for a few weeks but for others this certain type of negative feeling never goes away until the person does something about it mentally or physically. That something can lead a person to the point they think the only way out is ending their own life. Suicide is a topic that cannot be overlooked. Teen suicide is the third leading cause of death in today’s youth. With these statistics, the question rises are teenagers asking adults for help or are adults ignoring the signs? Teen suicide can be preventable, and the way

as likely to die from suicide than a teenager growing up in 1960. One of the

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 2015, suicide is the second leading cause of death in the adolescent population in this country and the number of occurrences continues to rise at a dramatic rate. For every teen that completes a suicide, 100 make an attempt, making suicide a paramount public health issue that needs to be addressed. Statistics show that since 2009, the rates of attempted and completed suicide, in this age group continue to steadily increase (Centers for Disease Control [CDC], 2015; Taliaferro, Oberstar, & Wagman-Borowsky, 2012).

In the United States, suicide is the third-leading cause of death for 10 to 14-year-olds (CDC, 2015) and for 15 to 19-year-olds (Friedman, 2008). In 2013, 17.0% of students grades 9 to 12 in the United States seriously thought about committing suicide; 13.6% made a suicide plan; 8.0% attempted suicide; and 2.7% attempted suicide in which required medical attention (CDC, 2015). These alarming statistics show that there is something wrong with the way suicide is handled in today’s society. In order to alleviate the devastating consequences of teenage suicide, it is important to get at the root of what causes it all: mental illness. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Protection (2013), mental illness is the imbalance of thinking, state of mind, and mood. Approximately 90% of all suicides are committed by people with mental illnesses (NAMI, n.d.). This shows that there is a correlation between mental illness and suicide. If mental illnesses are not treated, deadly consequences could occur. It would make sense that if there is a correlation between mental illness and suicide across all ages, the same should be thought for adolescents. Approximately 21% of all teenagers have a treatable mental illness (Friedman, 2008), although 60% do not receive the help that they need (Horowitz, Ballard, & Pao, 2009). If mental illnesses are not found and treated in teenagers, some of them may pay the ultimate price.

There is too much teen suicide in the United States. Many teens who are depressed have mental issues such as depression, anxiety, bipolar, schizophrenia, etc. Often, teens who have these issues feel as if they don’t belong. They don’t feel like talking about certain things going on in their life. Issues regarding sexuality, bullying, and abuse make children feel hopeless and unwanted. They feel alone. The suicide rate has gone up dramatically. There are approximately 100,000 suicides per year and 10,000 to 20,000 of them being from ages 14 to 24. Suicide is also the 3rd leading cause of death for teens.

Teen suicide is increasing in America in teens age’s 14-17,young males,minorities;through the availability of guns,alcohol,drugs,and lack of support.

Teen suicide is a major problem in our society today. The adolescent suicide rate has tripled since 1960, while being the largest cause of death between the ages of 15 and 24. This is the one single age group that has seen an increase in suicides over the past thirty years. There are about 10,000 reported suicides reported annually. It is estimated however, that the true number of teen suicides is actually three to four times that number when unreported deaths are factored in.

Suicide is reaching epidemic proportions all across the globe. What is causing such an outbreak in young adults? Most people have heard about the get help hotlines and the advertisements associated with suicide. Although we 've all heard about it, not much is being done about it. Johnson states the facts about suicide, “claiming 39,518 lives in 2011, or more than 6,889 more than in 2005” (10). This small piece of information goes to show just how much suicide has increased in the last few years. Besides being the number 10 cause of death among all ages in the U.S., it is the 2nd leading killer of adolescents, or “people between ages 15 and 19” (Peacock 1). Also, the number of completed suicides only touches the surface on the dilemma it truly is; this is because there are 25 suicide attempts per every suicide (731). What goes unnoticed is that suicide is on the rise for a number of reasons including mental illness, bullying, social media, and high expectation perfectionist teens.

Did you know that suicide is the second leading cause of death for people between the age of 10 to 24 (CDCP)? According to the Jason Foundation, more adolescents die of suicide than of cancers, heart diseases, AIDs, birth defects, strokes, and pneumoniae combined. Particularly in the last fifteen years, the suicide rates of adolescent girls have tripled, experiencing the sharpest increase amongst the different age groups and genders (Bichell). In the United States, adolescent suicide is an ongoing social and health problem, in which people roughly between the age of 12 and 18, choose to take their own lives in order to escape an unfavorable situation or state-of-mind. Due to the increase in suicides, divorced families, and untreated depressions, adolescent suicide rates have dramatically risen. Current methods to reduce suicide rates, like the media’s guidelines for suicides and the government limiting access to firearms, have not been effective considering that the causes of the rise were not directly addressed or deeply considered. My methods to reduce adolescent suicide rates are to fully condemn suicide, by not mentioning it often, and to mandate educational programs on suicide and healthy relationships in all middle and high schools.

All the suffering, stress, and addiction comes from not realizing you already are what you are looking for. --Jon Kabat-Zinn

Day to day, teens suffer from peer pressure, problem from home, and stress from academics. Despise their status in the environment, majority of high school students refrain from acknowledging the presence of their reality. The problem in most situations in that students feel shut in, trapped in a never ending misery. How do they cope? What are their ways of dealing? Most students live in denial. Others have friends to confide in. For the devastating part, most students are not as open to these ideas and it leaves them with this alternative: suicide. Suicide is the third leading cause in teens the ages 14 to 19 within rural underserved areas. Suicidal ideation (SI), suicidal thoughts, were surveyed in over 12 high schools and it was found that in the past year, thoughts of (SI) were not shared with peers or even adults in the pursuit of receiving help or support (Pisani, 2012). Because a student spends most of their day at school, it is ideal for schools to provide realistic opportunities and school-based programs to assist with the suicide among the youth. The Surviving the Teens Suicide Prevention and Depression Awareness Program designed four 50 minute session or each high school student. This presented information in regards to factual information about depression, suicidal warning signs, suicidal risk factors and myths associated with suicide (King, 2010). The program provide coping strategies for everyday life, referral sources if feeling suicidal, and how to recognize