` The Death of Teens Stops with You

Lindsay Mueller
Mr. Brunner
English 5-6

Lindsay Mueller
Mr. Brunner
English 5-6

Teen suicide is the third largest cause of death in the ages fifteen and twenty-four. In 2003, there were a total of 3,988 recorded cases of teen suicide. This number has tripled since 1952 and is expected to increase in future years. Teen suicide is a huge problem in our society, there are many effects of suicide and there are also many ways to prevent suicide. Suicide has many causes, preventions, and ways to notice a teen who is depressed.
“Most suicides are Psychological,” says Psychologist Edwin Schneidman. Many teens who commit suicide lack their psychological needs to be met and have psychological pain. Parents who don’t tell their kid they’re proud of them and show them love and compassion is a way that leads to the lack of psychological needs. Teens also may have other symptoms of depression if they’re on an Antidepressant. Antidepressants have SSRI’s which stimulate out of control behavior. Some newer antidepressants have behaviors that are similar to meth, cocaine, and PCP’s. Teens who are on these antidepressants will feel more violent and aggressive. This can lead to teens who will break laws and possibly fall into drugs. Teens doing drugs can also be caused by the media. The media shows many movies with teens or adults going through tough situations who have decided to end it all. The media shows and tells teens people in movies that have hard times and decide they want to commit suicide which is making teens and kids think they will get attention and that suicide is an easy and fast way to end the pain. Some teens are not really suicidal but tell others they are to get attention and to get affection from others due to the lack of attention and affection from their parents and loved ones. Lastly, a huge factor in a reason why teens want to commit suicide is because of stress. Stress plays a huge roles on teens, teens are busy with work, school, friends, family, and money. Teens who are stressed tend to feel more run down and tell themselves they cant do it anymore. Also teens feel overwhelmed and that they cant handle all the constant worry and pressure. There are many ways to solve the stress problem but many believe suicide is the only way, it’s not. Teens can take a weekend off work to spend with friends and family, get a message, go see a movie, relax at home by yourself. There are many other solutions to stress that don’t have a permanent outcome.
Interacting with other teens and adults who are close to them can prevent suicide. Children with parents, who are still married, have a lower chance of being suicidal in their lifetime because their parents with give the children lots of love and happy memories. Parents can also help teens feel happier by spending time with the children doing things the child likes; this will bring a connection between the child and the parents. Teens who see someone at school who is alone can also start a conversation with that person just to help that person meet new people and to help them with their socializing skills. Another way to help teens open and socialize with others is to encourage them to join a club or sport. This will keep them busy and with others having a fun time. Joining a sport or club is also a great way to meet new people. Parents can also try to help the teen become interested in different hobbies, such as sewing, art, crafts, or into helping out the community. These are just a few examples of how to prevent suicide in teens. Also a way the school can stop suicide and depression in teens is to stop bullying. If the school sees someone being bullied they can step in and make sure that they are escorted into the office and apologize to the teen they were bullying. This is one of the small ways a school can stop bullying. Schools can also step up the disciple for bullying another student. One great Idea