Essay on Suicide
Suicide is the second leading cause of death among teenagers and young adults. On average, adolescents aged 15 to 19 years have an annual suicide rate of about 1 in 10,000 people. (Help Guide, 2011) Among youths 12 to 16 years of age, up to 10% of boys and 20% of girls have considered suicide. Gay and Lesbian adolescents are more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers. (Help Guide, 2011) Suicide rates are 5 to 8 times higher among First Nations and Inuit teens. Suicide is defined as the act of a person intentionally causing their own death.
(Help Guide, 2011) Over one million people die each year by committing suicide. (Help Guide, 2011) Suicide is committed out of despair to something underlying a major problem in a person’s life which includes depression, bullying, and a death of a loved one. Suicide is known as the process of purposely ending one’s own life. The way societies view suicide varies widely according to culture and religion. One myth about suicide that may be the result of this view is considering suicide to always be the result of a mental illness. (Everyday Health, 2011) Some societies also treat a suicide attempt as if it were a crime.
However, suicides are sometimes seen as understandable or even honorable in certain circumstances. Nearly 1 million people worldwide commit suicide each year, with anywhere from 10 million to 20 million suicide attempts annually. (Everyday Health, 2011) About 30,000 people reportedly kill themselves each year in the United States. (Help Guide, 2011) The true number of suicides is likely higher because some deaths that were thought to be an accident, like a single-car accident, overdose, or shooting, are not recognized as being a suicide. Suicide is the third leading cause of death for people 10-24 years of age. (Everyday Health, 2011) Teen suicide statistics for youths 15-19 years of age indicate that from 1950-1990, the frequency of suicides increased by 300% and from 1990-2003, that rate decreased by 35%.
(Everyday Health, 2011) However, from 2000-2004, the rate of suicide has gradually increased, both in 10-24 years and 25-64 years old age groups. (Everyday Health, 2011) While the rate of murder-suicide remains low at 0.0001%, the devastation it creates makes it a concerning public-health issue. (Everyday Health, 2011) Of course, an alarming and increasing number of teenagers attempt and succeed at suicide. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), suicide is the third leading cause of death for 15 to 24-year-olds.
For the overwhelming majority of suicidal teens, depression or another psychological disorder plays a primary role. In depressed teens who also abuse alcohol or drugs, the risk of suicide is ever greater. ( Family & Child, 2011) About 80% of suicides are committed by people who are depressed. ( Family & Child, 2011) Depression is a mental health disorder. It causes chemical imbalances in the brain, which can lead to despondency, lethargy, or general apathy towards life. Almost half of 14 and 15-year-olds have reported feeling some symptoms of depression, which makes coping with the extensive stresses of adolescence all the more difficult.
( Family & Child, 2011) Symptoms of depression in youth are often overlooked or passed off as being typical “adolescent turmoil.” Depression affects a person’s thoughts in such a way that the person doesn’t see when a problem can be overcome. It’s as if the depression puts a filter on the person’s thinking that distorts things. That’s why depressed people don’t realize that suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem in the same way that other people do. A teen with depression may feel like there’s no other way out of problems, no other escape from emotional pain, or no other way to communicate a desperate unhappiness. People with the condition called bipolar disorder are also more at risk for committing suicide because their condition can cause them to go through times when they are extremely depressed as well as times when they have abnormally high pr frantic energy.
Both of these extreme phases of bipolar disorder affect and distort a person’s mood, outlook, and judgment. ( Family & Child, 2011) For people with this condition, it can be a challenge to keep problems in perspective and act with good judgment. ( Family & Child, 2011) When depression lifts because someone gets the proper therapy or treatment, the distorted thinking is cleared. The person can find pleasure, energy, and hope again. But whole someone is seriously depressed, suicidal thinking is a real concern.
In addition, bullying is recognized as a major public health problem throughout the world. It appears to have devastating consequences. Cyber bullying has become an increasing public concern in light of recent cases associated with youth suicide that have been reported in the mass media. (The Signal, 2011) About 42% of kids have been bullied while online with one in four being verbally attacked more than once. (The Signal, 2011) Bullying continues to happen every day ending in cases of bullycide where the tee or child takes their life because they can’t handle the bullying anymore. This often occurs at school, after school and online and is in the form of verbal abuse, teasing, name calling, cyber bullying, the physical acts of violence, theft and damaged belongings.
(The Signal, 2011) All of these forms of bullying have been known to be a cause of suicide among children and teens. That is why it is important for parents to see the sign of bullying early before it’s too late and results in a case of bullycide with their own teen. In recent years, a series of bullying-related suicides in the United States and across the globe have drawn attention to the connection between bullying and suicide. (The Signal, 2011) Though too many adults still see bullying as “just part of being a kid,” it is a serious problem that leads to many young teens taking their lives. (The Signal, 2011) Many people may not realize that there is also a link between being a bully and committing suicide.
Bullying is far from harmless and needs to be recognized for the very serious threat that it is. In addition to physical assaults bullying has a devastating impact on the emotional and psychological well being of victims. (The Signal, 2011) Bullying is a relentless assault on the soul. At this level, coping with a loss of a loved one a person may go through all kinds of emotions. A person dealing with a loss of a loved one may start to become worried about their family and how they are planning on coping with the lost, shocked that the person passed away so unplanned and sudden.
They become really angry because they have lost someone really close to them and they don’t understand why it happened to them, and guilty because they feel like it’s their fault that person die. (Medicine Net, 2011) Their emotions might be stronger or deeper than usual or mixed together in ways you’ve never experienced before. A person who loses someone becomes full of strong emotions such as angry or sadness. They have physical reactions such as not sleeping or even waves of nausea. Some people find themselves questioning their beliefs and feeling disappointed in their religion while others find that they feel more strongly than ever about their faith.
(Medicine Net, 2011) The grieving process takes time and healing usually happens gradually. The intensity of grief may be related to how sudden or predictable the loss was and how a person felt about the person who passed away. Suicide attempts are highest during middle adolescence after a death of a loved one. (Medicine Net, 2011) By about 17 to 18, the rate of suicide attempts drops. (Medicine Net, 2011)This may be because older teens have learned how to tolerate the sadness from a death of a loved one. Some people write about grief happening in stages, but usually it feels more like “waves” or cycles of grief that come and go depending on what the person is doing if there are triggers for remembering the person who has died.
(Medicine Net, 2011) In final consideration, suicide is committed out of a cry for help. (The Signal, 2011) The person believes that there are no other options besides ending their life. The cause of someone committing suicide is: depression, bullying, alcohol abuse and a death of a loved one. Teens need adult guidance more than ever to understand all the emotional and physical changes they are experiencing. When teen’s moods disrupt their ability to function on a day-to-day basis, it may indicate a serious emotion or mental disorder that needs attention. (The Signal, 2011) You can take steps to prevent a suicide attempt.
Be willing to listen, and help the person find help. Don’t be afraid to ask “What is the matter?” or bring up the subject of suicide. There is no evidence that talking about suicide leads to suicidal
