How real is the problem of youth suicide? Here are the numbers:
Every year there are approximately 10 youth suicides for every 100,000 youth.
Every day there are approximately 11 youth suicides. Every 2 hours and 11 minutes, a person under the age of 25 completes suicide.
Why is our youth committing suicide at such a young age? It should be the most exciting time of their life.
Every year there are approximately 10 youth suicides for every 100,000 youth.
Every day there are approximately 11 youth suicides. Every 2 hours and 11 minutes, a person under the age of 25 completes suicide.
Why is our youth committing suicide at such a young age? It should be the most exciting time of their life.
The timing was interesting with the news I'd just received. Even more interesting was that I'd just finished a paper on the youth in extreme poverty here in the US. Adding to the above statistics:
In 2007, suicide was the 11th leading cause of death among all ages and demographics in the United States.
Among Native Americans and Alaska Natives between the ages of 15 and 34, suicide was the second leading cause of death.
Among Native American males, aged between 15 and 19, the numbers are even more grim. In a span of five years, 202 young men took their own lives, a rate of 34.6 per 100,000.
In comparison, the rate for males in the same age group was 13.7 for whites, 9.7 for Hispanics and 7.2 for African-Americans.
A U.S. survey found that almost one in five high school students had seriously considered attempting suicide, and more than one in six had already made plans to commit suicide.
Teen suicide in extreme poverty communities can be up to 150 times higher than the national average.
So what's going on? Why are we losing so many teens to suicide?
There are as many reasons for teen suicide as there are teens attempting it. Every teen has his own story. Every teen has his own reasons for contemplating or attempting to take his own life. As we saw today, popular, outgoing, good kids can take their own lives just as well as the troubled, delinquent, outcasts.
As a generation, today's teens are faced with shrinking support systems. Although teens can have thousands of friends on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, they may not have many real friends that they encounter face to face on a regular basis. Gone are the days of belonging to Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, GAs, RAs, Young Life and more being the cool thing to do. Memberships in clubs, organizations and even sports are now considered to be too restrictive on a teen's social time. There is a serious lack of belonging experienced among today's teens.
In addition, families have strayed from each other. In the past, extended families lived close enough to visit often, enjoy holidays together, and share in the day-to-day life experiences of each other. Today, a teen's closest relatives (other than those in his own household) may live hundreds or thousands of miles away, with limited interaction and even more scarce visitation. Grandmothers aren't there teaching the granddaughters to cook, sew or plant a garden. Grandfathers aren't there to take the grandsons hunting or fishing, or to teach them to work on a car. Aunts and Uncles are too busy - or are too far away - to spend time molding, shaping and mentoring their nieces and nephews.
Positive role models seem to be an endangered species today. Our sports heroes, actors, actresses, musicians and other celebrities are failing to provide good examples of responsible behaviors and attitudes. Even our church leaders are falling and failing at epidemic rates. Today's youth need people to look up to and admire. They need to see real life examples of what they can aspire to be.
In the case of one popular teenager who attempted to take her life, parents, teachers, coaches and others are expecting far too much from teens at far too young ages. This young lady said "I can never do anything good enough for my parents. I'm never good enough for my teachers. It's always a matter of 'you can do better' or 'try harder'. Maybe they are right, maybe I'll never be good enough. Maybe I will never accomplish anything. So why bother trying?" This young lady was a straight A student, excelled in softball and basketball, was an accomplished pianist and singer, and had won numerous beauty pageants. When people found out she had attempted suicide, they inadvertently added to the problem. Comments began to surface of "she had everything" and "she was perfect" so why would she try to kill herself? It may have seemed this girl had it all on the outside, but inside, she had nothing that she needed - parents who loved her unconditionally, teachers who supported and encouraged her with positive feedback, coaches who applauded her efforts and instilled a love of the sport, and friends who were her friends because she was herself, not because of what she had become. Our teenagers need to know they are loved no matter what. They need to be hugged, they need to see that people care, and they need to hear daily "I love you" from adult influences in their lives. They need to know it's okay to make mistakes and be taught how to learn from those mistakes and try again. They need to know that it's okay to be average. They need to know that perfection is not an attainable goal. Instead of criticism, they need to be given positive, encouraging motivation.
Bullying has become an epidemic in our schools, neighborhoods, and even our churches. Gossip, perversion, manipulation and outright physical, emotional and sexual abuse are running rampant in every environment our teens encounter. Our teenagers need to learn how to deal with these things, and how to prevent them. Adults need to be actively involved in helping to provide safer environments for our youth. Rules need to be stated and enforced. Zero tolerance for bullying needs to be adopted in these places our youth frequent. More importantly, our teens need help learning who they are and in gaining a strong self-esteem and self-worth, so that these bullying events do not have catastrophic results on their lives.
I don't think we've reached the point of no return with teen suicides. I think we've reached a stage where people are starting to notice what's going on and wanting to change things. That's a good start. But it will take every adult who has any contact with our youth taking a stand and doing their part to change this alarming trend. There are numerous resources available out there for training, information, support and crisis intervention. We can and will make a difference, if we're willing to get actively involved.
What can YOU do today to help build a teenager up and give them hope for tomorrow?
Among Native Americans and Alaska Natives between the ages of 15 and 34, suicide was the second leading cause of death.
Among Native American males, aged between 15 and 19, the numbers are even more grim. In a span of five years, 202 young men took their own lives, a rate of 34.6 per 100,000.
In comparison, the rate for males in the same age group was 13.7 for whites, 9.7 for Hispanics and 7.2 for African-Americans.
A U.S. survey found that almost one in five high school students had seriously considered attempting suicide, and more than one in six had already made plans to commit suicide.
Teen suicide in extreme poverty communities can be up to 150 times higher than the national average.
So what's going on? Why are we losing so many teens to suicide?
There are as many reasons for teen suicide as there are teens attempting it. Every teen has his own story. Every teen has his own reasons for contemplating or attempting to take his own life. As we saw today, popular, outgoing, good kids can take their own lives just as well as the troubled, delinquent, outcasts.
As a generation, today's teens are faced with shrinking support systems. Although teens can have thousands of friends on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, they may not have many real friends that they encounter face to face on a regular basis. Gone are the days of belonging to Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, GAs, RAs, Young Life and more being the cool thing to do. Memberships in clubs, organizations and even sports are now considered to be too restrictive on a teen's social time. There is a serious lack of belonging experienced among today's teens.
In addition, families have strayed from each other. In the past, extended families lived close enough to visit often, enjoy holidays together, and share in the day-to-day life experiences of each other. Today, a teen's closest relatives (other than those in his own household) may live hundreds or thousands of miles away, with limited interaction and even more scarce visitation. Grandmothers aren't there teaching the granddaughters to cook, sew or plant a garden. Grandfathers aren't there to take the grandsons hunting or fishing, or to teach them to work on a car. Aunts and Uncles are too busy - or are too far away - to spend time molding, shaping and mentoring their nieces and nephews.
Positive role models seem to be an endangered species today. Our sports heroes, actors, actresses, musicians and other celebrities are failing to provide good examples of responsible behaviors and attitudes. Even our church leaders are falling and failing at epidemic rates. Today's youth need people to look up to and admire. They need to see real life examples of what they can aspire to be.
In the case of one popular teenager who attempted to take her life, parents, teachers, coaches and others are expecting far too much from teens at far too young ages. This young lady said "I can never do anything good enough for my parents. I'm never good enough for my teachers. It's always a matter of 'you can do better' or 'try harder'. Maybe they are right, maybe I'll never be good enough. Maybe I will never accomplish anything. So why bother trying?" This young lady was a straight A student, excelled in softball and basketball, was an accomplished pianist and singer, and had won numerous beauty pageants. When people found out she had attempted suicide, they inadvertently added to the problem. Comments began to surface of "she had everything" and "she was perfect" so why would she try to kill herself? It may have seemed this girl had it all on the outside, but inside, she had nothing that she needed - parents who loved her unconditionally, teachers who supported and encouraged her with positive feedback, coaches who applauded her efforts and instilled a love of the sport, and friends who were her friends because she was herself, not because of what she had become. Our teenagers need to know they are loved no matter what. They need to be hugged, they need to see that people care, and they need to hear daily "I love you" from adult influences in their lives. They need to know it's okay to make mistakes and be taught how to learn from those mistakes and try again. They need to know that it's okay to be average. They need to know that perfection is not an attainable goal. Instead of criticism, they need to be given positive, encouraging motivation.
Bullying has become an epidemic in our schools, neighborhoods, and even our churches. Gossip, perversion, manipulation and outright physical, emotional and sexual abuse are running rampant in every environment our teens encounter. Our teenagers need to learn how to deal with these things, and how to prevent them. Adults need to be actively involved in helping to provide safer environments for our youth. Rules need to be stated and enforced. Zero tolerance for bullying needs to be adopted in these places our youth frequent. More importantly, our teens need help learning who they are and in gaining a strong self-esteem and self-worth, so that these bullying events do not have catastrophic results on their lives.
I don't think we've reached the point of no return with teen suicides. I think we've reached a stage where people are starting to notice what's going on and wanting to change things. That's a good start. But it will take every adult who has any contact with our youth taking a stand and doing their part to change this alarming trend. There are numerous resources available out there for training, information, support and crisis intervention. We can and will make a difference, if we're willing to get actively involved.
What can YOU do today to help build a teenager up and give them hope for tomorrow?
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