The Staggering Truth Of Youth Suicide
by Mohit J. White Hat Link Building ServicesWhen you look at causes of death in
15 to 24-year-olds the third leading cause is suicide. It is the only leading
cause of death in teens that has shown an alarming increase in numbers over the
years. In general, there is a suicide every 11 minutes and among teens that is
about 1 every 2 hours. Prevention requires education, resources, being open and
talking about the issue and people better recognizing the warning signs of
suicide. What most have in common though is the belief that life is hopeless,
that they are in a lot of emotional and mental pain and that they cannot
tolerate living anymore. The most important thing we can do as parents,
teachers, coaches and so on, is to talk to them.
Take
teens seriously
Firstly it is essential that when a
teen talks about the thought of suicide that this is taken seriously every
time. Their feelings should be taken seriously and the best way to help them is
to connect with them and support them. Acknowledge them and what they feel and
what they say. Nothing says that you want to help more than really listening.
Just as important as having one or both parents to talk to is having outside
support.
One option that can help with youth
suicide prevention is peer counseling. Teens often rely heavily on peers for
all kinds of support as well as information. If they are educated as well about
talking openly with each other about these things it could do a lot of good.
They could get not just support but information too. Being a peer counselor can
help teens as they have improved self-esteem and feel like they have something
to contribute. They have a feeling of being more in control and being more
socially useful. They are recognized for their abilities, skills and the
important role they can play. Using learned skills, support and things like
self-reflection a teen can come to eventually see themselves in a stronger and
more positive manner.
Keeping
up with the times
As teens change how they interact
with the world so we need to change to keep up with that. Where once the typical
stereotype of teens was them sitting talking on the phone for hours, now this
is more likely to be them texting or using social media. Therefore as well as
watching and learning about warning
signs of suicide resources need to reflect this. Offering peer
support online, via text messaging as well as other more traditional methods
such as on the phone is crucial. 88% of teens use their cells to chat, email or
text. Out of that 88%, 3 out of 10 actually send more than 100 messages daily.
On average boys text about 30 times daily and girls about 80.
Summery
There are many programs working
toward supporting teens and with the goal of youth suicide prevention. But with as
many attempts and successful suicides as there still are, it is not enough. It
is important as a society that we try to pick up the gap that is there.
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Created on May 18th 2022 02:06. Viewed 92 times.