The Role Of Suicide In The United States

Attempting suicide is an epidemic in the United States; especially when 41% of transgender individuals have attempted suicide compared 1.6% of the general population (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation). Due to this, the question of whether or not transgender youth have a harder, more straining adolescence than their cisgender counterparts rises. Although adolescence can be hard on everyone, experiences such as a school environment, puberty, laws that guarantee protection, family and social acceptance of transgender youth are harder than those of their cisgender counterparts (harder does not necessarily mean correlate with strenuous, the use of harder is aiming more towards different, costly, and possibly more confusing). The revolution for transgender lives is just beginning, change is happening. But in order for change to occur, adequate information on the material needs to be discussed and terminology must be defined and questions must be answered. Questions such as: what do the terms transgender and cisgender actually mean? Why is it important to know the difference between the two terms? What is the difference between transsexual and transgender?

Bullying is one of the leading causes in teen suicide today. People bullied in the past or present have been studied and it has shown that they have a lower quality of life. Though they have a lower quality of life, the have better physical and mental health. (“Seaman” 1). Studies have shown that most bullying happens in middle school and high school. There is bullying in elementary school but it is minimal and less serious (“Bullying Statistics” 1). Most kids refuse to speak up while being bullied in fear that the bully will just taunt them more (“Cyber-Safety Act” 2). Bullying has become a very serious issue regarding our society today.

According to Bulent Dilmac, “bullying is defined as aggression with the intention of hurting (Kepenekci & Çınkır, 2003) and is an anti-social form of behavior that produces negative consequences (Taylor, 2006).” “Cyberbullying is defined as the repetitive use of information and communication technologies by an individual or a group in order to hurt other individuals. (Akbaba & Eroǧlu, 2013).” There have been several cases where cyberbullying causes teenagers to take their own life’s (commit suicide). It can cause individuals to suppress negative emotions within them. Lowering their self-esteem and looking at life with a sense of hopelessness. Jessica Laney was a victim of cyberbullying when she was insulted on social media.

In 2014, suicide was the tenth leading cause of death overall in the United States. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH, 2015), there were twice as many suicides than there were homicides. Suicidal ideation (SI), defined as an individual thinking about, considering, or planning their suicide, is established before the act of committing suicide. Research suggests that adverse childhood experiences (CDC, 2015) will put an individual at risk for developing a mental illness that could result in SI and suicide attempt (SA). It is important for the psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP) to recognize the signs of SI and SA while assessing their client.

Suicide has historically been and continues to be a significant issue in the United States, for civilians as well as active duty military service members and veterans. While statistics surrounding suicide appear to be just numbers on a page, I personally implore the reader of the following paper to never lose sight of the fact that those numbers represent real people. Each one of those people, be they civilian or military, represent a loss of a father or a mother, a brother or a sister, a son or a daughter, a best friend, a comrade, …a person whose life, and that life’s potential, is now forever lost. The following statistics on suicide rates in the United States do not differentiate if the individual was a civilian, an active duty

Every suicide effects more than the individual’s life, in truth it impacts families, communities and economic well-being of our nation. According, Piscopo, Lipari, Cooney, and Glasheen, (2016) “Suicide is an important public health problem in the United States and a tragedy for all involved—families, friends, neighbors, colleagues, and communities. In 2014, suicide was the 10th leading cause of death in the United States overall.1 Among people aged 10 to 34, suicide was the second highest cause of death, and for those aged 35 to 54, it was the fourth highest cause of death” (p. 2).

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (2016), found that suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in people, which means approximately 44,965 Americans die by suicide. Men, however, are 3.53x more likely to commit suicide. The group that had the highest suicide rate were middle age males (45-65 years old). The second highest group is people aged above 85 years old. For people in the 15-24-year-old age group, the suicide rate is 13.15% (AFSP, 2016).

Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States. There are approximately 121 successful suicides a day, and 44,193 a year. Almost 50% of suicides are committed with a firearm. Seven out of ten suicides are committed by white middle aged men. It is proven that men die from suicide 3.5 times more than women; however, it is documented that women try three times more. Over the past 17 years’ suicide rates have increased steadily. Suicide rates are higher in people who are 34 and older. Whites currently hold the highest suicide rate. The most popular form of suicide is with a firearm it accounts for 49.8%. Second is suffocation at 26.8%, then poisoning at 15.4%, and other at 7.9%. No count is kept for people who attempted

Suicides are one of the most prevalent deaths that occur across the world. Suicidal cases have been examined by philosophers, scholars and researchers since decades (Bertolote, 2000). Majority of the suicidal cases reflect stress, fear of losing reputation and disbelief and anger as reasons. As hard it is to counsel the patients with suicidal tendencies, it is equally hard to prevent them (Bertolote, 2000). It is recorded that suicides are the tenth major causes for death in United States and it increased to 12% from the period 2000-2009 (Schmitz, et al., 2012). The biggest irony in the case of suicides is the people who save our lives i.e. doctors are more prone to suicides. Amongst the doctors who commit suicides, Dentists

As medical research progresses, and new technology advances the way we treat illnesses, people with mental illnesses are left in the dark without help. Mental Health America reports that one in five adults have a mental health condition, however, 56% of them do not receive proper treatment. Unfortunately, our society still has a stigma towards people with mental health problems. Many people fear judgement and choose not to tell anyone about their condition. These attitudes stem from the public perception of mental illness as a weakness. Hearing someone say, “That is not a real illness,” or “Get over it” is inconsiderate, and prevents people from seeking further help. Suicide in our society is increasing at an alarming rate, and as long as there is a social stigma towards mental health, we cannot work toward the solution.

According to the CDC, suicide is the third leading cause of death in youth between the ages of 10 and 24. It results in approximately 4,400 deaths each year (Get the Facts). Most teens are bullied because of looks, body shape, and race. These things cause many issues, including; suicide, self harm, and even depression. Teenage bullying is a very common issue in the US. There are many types of bullying, including; cyber, physical, verbal, and so many more. It can cause so many issues and affect many people.

Bullying is the cause of many suicides and deaths (Home n. pag). In McCormack’s article, he explains how many students are bullied each day and harassed to the point where they question their own self-esteem. They are no longer

But both articles show that bullying alone does not result in direct suicide, there are some other factors which contribute a lot toward the final step of suicide. These factors include depressions, problems faced by student at home, trauma history of students. Both of these articles also provide some suggestions regarding the solution of this issue (prevention of bullying). Both articles describes that

Experience of being a victim of bullying can finally damage the mental health of students and motivate them to commit school violence. "According to statistics in two-thirds of cases of the recent school shootings, the attackers had previously been bullied" (Sampson, 2009, p.1). For most children learning process itself may already be a daily struggle and being a target for bullying at the same time can become "the straw that broke the camel's back", after which they consider suicide as the only possible solution. "A study in Britain found that at least half of suicides among young people are related to bullying" (Detlor, 2010). So, due to the fact that problem of bullying negatively affects students' learning ability, their health and the entire school climate society should take definite and urgent measures to solve it.

Furthermore, suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people, resulting in about 4,400 deaths per year. For every suicide among those teens, there are at least 100 suicide attempts and over 14 percent of high school students have considered suicide, and about 7 percent have attempted it. Over 77 percent of students have been bullied verbally, mentally, and physically which is extreme amount. In addition, each day about 160,000 students miss school because of bullying or because of their fear of being bullied. In fact, just like any other victim of bullying, cyber bullied kids experience anxiety, fear, depression, and low self-esteem.