Causes of Teenage Suicide

By Dr. Maisie M

Suicide is the third leading cause of death in teenagers especially between the age group 15 to 19. Though teen suicides are more like an impulsive act lacking maturity, there is no way you can justify people around them who fail to notice or downplay their cries for love, attention and help. What is it that drives the teens to believe that life is too difficult to deal with? Let's have a look...

Adolescence has always been a period of confusion with varying temperaments where teens have to deal with academic, social and individual pressures. Additional stress factors like poor performance, fear of punishment, rivalry, violence in the family etc can make them feel there is nothing to live for. Teen suicides are like precious lives turned futile causing an irreparable loss to the individual as well his close concerns.

The need to be addressed

Minors choose death because suffering becomes intolerable as per their perception. There is little hope for change, improvement or possibility of a better future with the life that they experience. They have an easy solution in mind i.e death which means no pain. Most of the teen suicidal attempts are the resultant of inability to handle depression effectively.

Facts about teen suicide

·        Clear warning signs precede suicides in more than 90% of cases

·        More suicides occur because of depression than being afflicted by fatal diseases

·        Not all teenagers who commit suicide are mentally ill

·        Possibility of completing a suicide increases with the number of attempts

·        Most teen suicides can be prevented by effective communication and psychotherapy

·        One should pay attention to the post-depressive period, when the individual looks near normal, yet it could be an unsafe period

Causes of teenage suicide

·        Disharmony in the family

·        Unhealthy or abusive relationships or a break-up

·        Alcohol or drug abuse

·        Feelings of anger and guilt

·        Physical or mental disorders

·        Poor academic performance

·        Sibling rivalry

·        History of suicide within close circle

·        Experience of a personal loss

·        Inability to handle hardships due to low energy and depression

Notice the red alerts

Parents need to look out for the warning signs and differentiate them from the normal teen angst over helplessness. Expression of feelings related to depression and worthlessness definitely means something is going seriously wrong. These symptoms may be present together or in varied combinations and can be addressed effectively if noticed earlier.

·        Complaining of sadness, fatigue and emptiness

·        Statements and jokes about death and suicide

·        Loss of interest in fun and recreation

·        Neglect of appearance

·        Not responding to praise

·        Social withdrawal and staying aloof most of the time

·        Aggressive expressions of hatred and anger

·        Insomnia and sleep disorders

·        Trouble concentrating on studies

·        Signs of hallucination and weird thoughts

·        Physical signs like body aches and pains

·        Indigestion and major changes in weight

·        Drug or alcohol abuse

·        Meeting people one cares about

·        Setting affairs in order

·        Throwing away important possessions

·        Verbal hints like "I won't cause a problem much longer"

Prevention: Get help immediately

Immediate consultation with a mental health professional is a must in extreme to moderate cases. An in-depth psychological evaluation with appropriate medications followed up in a timely manner is necessary. Local support groups and hotline numbers should be made available to teens so they can reach someone in emotional crisis.

Parents should watch over their teenagers and help them clear their distortions about life and bring back hope and vigor back again. Trust me, no magical spells are needed, help them open up and express whatever they feel. Do not leave the kid lonely and let there be more than one person he can turn to for help. It can be his guardian, friend, teacher, counselor, family doctor or anybody he can trust. Assure him that such feelings are temporary and will surely pass. Keep weapons like guns, blades and medications away from his reach. Agree to help the person whenever he wishes to speak out his feelings. Do not argue and find faults. The fact that someone is helping him figure out a way to betterment has a healing effect on him.