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The Cause Of Teen Suicide In The United States

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“I’m wearying to escape into that glorious world, and to be always there: not seeing it dimly through tears, and yearning for it through the walls of an aching heart: but really with it, and in it” (Bronte) Every single year in the United States of America, approximately 2 million U.S. adolescents attempt suicide, and almost 700,000 receive medical attention for their attempt. What this means is that each year in the United States, 2,000 youth aged 10-19 complete suicide, making it the 3rd leading cause of death among young people. And here is the thing about teen suicide, every single year, this number continues to increase. The only real conclusions that these institutions have been able to reach is that some kids are merely ‘sick’, suffering …show more content…

It is in fact true that some individuals are born suffering from anxieties and depressions that contribute greatly to their state of mind, but most parents of youth that have committed suicide report no prior symptoms of mental illness. There is one interesting aspect that continues increasing in difficulty as teen suicides rise, and that is public education. Blythe Baird, an incredibly influential young slam poet decided to take an outside look at the ways in which High School is causing the deterioration of the mental health of its students, causing a lot of individuals to finally open their eyes about precisely why high school has become such a dangerous environment. Blythe Baird’s poem High School clearly illustrates the intensity of the ways in which the modern public education system causes students to lose contact with their own emotions, destroys their self-confidence and enforces unrealistic expectations that push students to do things they are later punished …show more content…

There is no doubt that students actually attempting to perform well in high school are facing a great deal of stress. It is easy to say that students can get by with no stress at all, but the pressure of getting into college and getting good great makes it nearly impossible for most students to settle for ‘passing’ grades. Essentially what this means is that students are pushed to the very brim in an attempt to get straight A’s in the honors course while balancing extra-curricular activities, and often times a close-to-nonexistent social life. Due to all of this pressure, students have stopped trying to take the time to figure themselves, out, letting their own well-being slip in favor of the grades they need to get into the college of their dreams. As Baird states, “We know the Pythagorean Theorem by heart / But short-circuit when asked / “How are you?” / We don’t know. / We don’t know. / That wasn’t on the study guide. / We usually know the answer, / But rarely know ourselves” (High School, line 14). There is only so much pressure that an individual can take before they start to crack. The prime issue with this is that students attempting to get copious amounts of schoolwork done, cannot afford to crack, so they push these

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