Increasing Teen Suicides

Jon Carmichael,  an eighth grader died of suicide yesterday in Joshua Texas. Celebrity Marie Osmond's eighteen year old son Michael Blosil died of suicide  last month on February 26th.  Suicide is the third leading cause of death among  ages 15 - 24 and fourth for ages 10 - 14 according to the American Acadamy of Pediatrics.  The Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta states that 60% of high school students have thought about committing suicide, and approximately 9% have tried killing themselves at least once.  According to the National Institute for Mental Health (NIMH), about 8 out of every 100,000 teenagers committed suicide in 2000. For every teen suicide death, experts estimate there are 10 other teen suicide attempts.
Bulling - an age old problem is one of the major causes and has garnered recent headlines. Social Media such as Facebook and twitter with use of cellphones increases the indiscriminate behavior exponentially leaving children the feeling of having no way out, no where to hide because of the brutal invasion of their privacy.  Anti-Bullying laws are being passed and many school districts are now focusing on recognition and prevention.

According to the Massachusetts 2006 Youth Risk Survey, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth are up to four times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers. In addition, the San Francisco State University Chavez Center Institute has found that LGBTQ youth who come from a rejecting family are up to nine times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers.


Signs that a teen may be contemplating suicide:

• Talks about death and/or suicide (maybe even with a joking manner).
• Plans ways to kill him or herself.
• Expresses worries that nobody cares about him or her.
• Has attempted suicide in the past.
• Dramatic changes in personality and behavior.
• Withdraws from interacting with friends and family.
• Shows signs of depression.
• Shows signs of a substance abuse problem.
• Begins to act recklessly and engage in risk-taking behaviors.
• Begins to give away sentimental possessions.
• Spends time online interacting with people who glamorize suicide and maybe even form suicide pacts

I've known people who have said there were no signs leading up to the suicide. In my small rural and very religious home town the boy who was slated to be the valedictorian, who was the quarterback on the football team and active in his church was found dead by his father - shot with the gun he'd given him earlier that year as a gift. We need to recognize that teens have a high stress life. We should help them to de-stress, relax, and find healthy ways to let out the steam. Give them a safe place, trusted person to where they can come when they need help. Don't let their pleas go unheard. Silence is not a sign of safety.

Resources for Teenage Suicide Prevention:
Free Teen Suicide Hotline The National Suicide Prevention Directory
Youth Suicide Prevention Program Focus Adolescent Services
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline - 1-800-273-8255
Yellow Ribbon Suicide Prevention Program , Trevor Project
Author Jodi Piccoult wrote about this phenomenon in her novel The Pact.  A new YA novel that includes this issue as part of a subplot is Summer in Paris by Michelle Ashman Bell.