Glennis Jackson

April 3, 2014
2B
Teenage Suicide the Preventions and Causes
Remember the girl that who was teased about being weird? She was just recently kicked out of
her house and felt lonely. Remember that boy that you teased about wearing funny clothes? Well he has
nothing but a few pairs of clothing. Oh yeah, also do you remember that boy who you found out was
dumped by your best friend and continually picked on by you and her? He committed suicide because
he didnt know about love and became depressed after the break up. The life of a teen always being
teased and picked on will them more than other adolescents because the worst that can happen is
suicide. Teenage suicide is known in the United States as the second leading death in teenagers, but the
rates of death from suicide are decreasing steadily due to resources and statistics from the 1950s to
now. It is an epidemic that has many different reasons and causes. In my research I have seen that it has
started being a problem since the mid 1900s. Teen suicide is known to be an outlet for depressed teens
and teens that cannot cope with bullying and stress that they are experiencing in their environments of
homes or school. My belief is that it all depends on the house that youre in whether you have support
of what your troubles are or you are ignored and not bothered with by your family. Although suicide is
uncommon in adolescents compared with non-fatal self-harm, it is always a tragic outcome, and
prevention of suicide in young people is understandably a focus of national strategies for suicide
prevention (Hawton). Americans today are trying their best to help with screening of teens determine if
it is a case of mental illness or depression so that the help can prevent a teens chance of committing
suicide and ruining the rest of their lives.
Suicide," said psychologist Dr. Patti Agatston, "is a complex and multifaceted act that is the
result of a combination of factors in any individual. What we need to learn more about is what are the
protective factors, since many youth are bullied and do not engage in suicidal behaviors (ProQuest
Staff). Prevention started with screening and having teens talk to an adult or person he/she trusts. Some
teens dont have enough money to afford prevention counselors or guidance counselors who are there
to help them and provide stability from causing self harm and suicide. Some depressed teenagers, who
are either embarrassed to seek help or can't afford it, eschew traditional medical care in favor of illicit
drugs to elevate their moods.....Autopsies of victims show that one-third to one-half of the teenagers
were under the influence of drugs or alcohol. (Teicher Khadaroo). Clinically depressed teens are more
likely to attempt suicide because they are using drugs to enhance or prevent their emotions but all it
does it make them worse. Drugs have been a way for teens to also try and escape their depression state
of minds and suicidal thoughts but then later on the feelings and emotions become stronger and the
chances of a teen committing suicide increases.
The reason why I believe that teen suicide can be prevented but also cannot is because the
majority of teens today want to be independent and others are trying to depend on those who keep
causing them to be suicidal. I used to be one of the suicidal teens who was depressed and didnt know
what to do. I attempted suicide in middle school because I was bullied and didnt know how to handle
living in a home with my aunt while my mother was overseas. I never been known to be bullied or hazed
in school until I moved there and I thought the best way for me was to end all the emotional pain and
bullying was to end my life. I had one friend I told this too and she advised me to go to the counselor
and tell her how I was feeling. It became serious so she called my uncle and he talked to me and he
with my aunt helped me with my problems at school. Since then, I have not thought of suicide and that
is because I had received help from a professional and have new tactics that I learned to not take words
or whatever people say to me too literal. If I was able to go and seek help, I believe that anybody has the
chance to be prevented from any pain and suicidal behavior. Then again there are those teens that
arent as persuasive and sometimes stubborn. Troubled teens will only go to somebody they have
known for their life and not go to a stranger or any adult figure. Those teens are the type that needs to
have a friend or family member very close to them to help get through a tough time because they will
need support just like I did with my aunt and uncle.
Ultimately, though, it's the quality of the parenting, not the constitution of the family unit, that
matters most, children's advocates say (Portner). In other words parents also have something to do with
their teens committing or attempting suicide. The reason why is because children who suffers chronic
physical or emotional abuse at home or witness domestic violence in their homes will be at risk and
have a high percentage of committing suicide due to the fact their children think it is their doing or the
child dont want to go through their household life and leave it for good. The prevention is hard to do
because some adolescents do not want to be separated from their family either because there is a
sibling that they really care about or the mother or father that they have is the only person they know
the teen stays and tries to live through it. According to the Department of Human Resources and
Housing in 1997, 42 out of 1000 children are repeated victims of child abuse which is a 320% leap from
the 10 per 1000 children in 1976 (Portner). This is why teens committing suicide will stay being an
epidemic, but it is preventable not automatically but it can be prevented through time depending on
whether the teen has reported the abuse or somebody knew about it and attempted to put an end
before the child decided on suicide.
For example, the teenage suicide rate began its climb just as the divorce rate started to surge
upward in the 1970s. Half of U.S. marriages now end in divorce, compared with 28 percent in the 1960s;
70 percent of children who attempt suicide have parents who are divorced. In addition, the percentage
of children living with two parents declined from 85 percent in 1970 to 68 percent in 1996, federal
statistics show. Also, if more schools had developed a way of teens to be screen to tell whether they
would need help or to identify that they are mentally ill would be a sign that we care. Then a lot of teens
would have a way or place to go because the screening will help provide them with help because they
would be done by a professional who wants to help them. If you think about it, my point is also shown
from how many different ways that teens commit suicide. For instance guns are the method of choice
for suicidal youths. More than 67 percent of boys and nearly 52 percent of girls ages 10 to 19 who kill
themselves use a firearm. Hanging or suffocation follows far behindthe choice of roughly 23 percent
of both male and female suicide victims. Smaller percentages die by overdosing on drugs, drowning, in
falls, or by slitting their wrists (Portner). The effects of drugs in the world today are huge factors to teen
suicide because when they are stressed they want to find a way to forget about their problems. Then as
they are on a high or intoxicated, their emotions would not go away and have them start thinking
deeper into why they want to do attempt suicide. It is a terrible waste of time because by the end of the
adolescent being intoxicated, they would be in an overly depressed state of mind and commit suicide
instead of talking and having the idea in their mind.
The opposition would say that suicide is not on the rise because it all depends on teens wanting
attention and as they hear about a peers death from suicide and see the outcome and attention they
received would motivate another teen to try and commit suicide themselves has became known as the
contagion effect. The memorials that some teens have or objects that memorialize or show remorse of a
teen can motivate another teen to feel as though they have no attention from others so they will
commit suicide and gain the same attention but it would be the type they will not want. The opposition
would also say that the blame would only depend on the child because it deals with how they interpret
their own feelings. Those people who talks about or bully adolescents would be an example of someone
who shows no sympathy to someone who committed suicide until later on when the adolescent is
proven to be gone and the see what their wrong doing caused a teen to attempt suicide. For example,
the Amanda Todd case was about a teenage girl who attempted suicide because of the embarrassment
and abuse that followed - both online and in person - led Ms. Todd to take her own life when the man
posted the pictures of her on the social network (Dutch police charge suspect).The people who
discriminated or harassed the girl are examples of the people who cause the teens feeling to commit
suicide because it was all over the internet and spread throughout the world. Her video describes what
she went through and how one man ended her life by always finding where she is and ruining her
chances of happiness. Then she was taken advantage of by a guy who she thought was caring and loved
her but used her for his own purpose. Afterwards she was beaten by a girl who convinced everybody at
her new school not to like her because of the situation with the guy and the betrayal of a stranger, the
bullying started again with her receiving multiple harassments at school and over the internet. As she
attempted suicide the first time drinking bleach she received messages like I hope she is dead, and
did you wash out the mud yet, from peers who never stopped (Todd). Those teens are examples of
what other people think when it comes to adolescents choosing suicide over life. These people are the
opposition and they show that they dont care if somebody was different or made a bad choice they will
turn and harass them and eventually the adolescent is dead from depression and killed from their own
hand.
The bullying and pain caused from people who are selfish and self centered, but later on they
tend to have karma come back and they are swept by remorse and regret of what they have done. Like
today if a man or female commits suicide there is despair in the air and sadness because nobody likes to
hear about death of any type. They also do not see the change that some schools are using to prevent
bullying and having students become closer with adults such as a guidance counselor or an authority
person who shows that they care and wants to be there for the student. For example, since my incident
I had been close with every one of my guidance counselors and now Im close with teachers and an
assistant principal. The teen suicide numbers may be on the rise but they are evenly balanced due to the
fact that there are those who are willing to take time out to listen and help adolescents and saving their
lives from their own hands so they can see the other way of life. The opposing peoples views are weak
because there will always be the one who puts an end to the suicide epidemic it will just have to deal
with one teen at a time.
Today teen suicide is still occurring and rapidly growing. Recently, I had a few peers committing
suicide and nobody recognized the signs to prevent the death. The preventions arent as strong as they
should be but at least some are trying. We need more people to care and provide support through
stress because later on it can be someone who is very special and dear to you next. We need to raise the
awareness and have rallies for teen suicide as we do for gay pride and breast cancer. It is not always
noticed and that is why most adolescents are going through this epidemic. Also, stop the bullying and
have everybody learn everything they need to know to help teens who are mentally ill. The more we get
involved to stop the prevention the better chances we will see a change in the epidemic and teens will
see that people really do care and want to help them. Save one life, one day and save a million from
suicide.










Work Cited
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