Teen Suicide, Signs and Symptoms of Depression - Essay Example

TEEN SUICIDE A human life goes through different cycles in their life span. Teenage is one crucial period in a person’s life where they are opened up to a whole new part of their life. This age is considered to be one of the most sensitive parts which are a well known fact all over the world. It is the period where a person faces hormonal changes as well as physical changes and hence is considered to be one of the most essential parts. If we get closer into the teenage and issues surrounding it, one thing that is very clear is the teenage suicides that have been happening all over the world. Teenage suicide is a voluntary move made by a person to end their lives. It is to be noted that teenage is one of the most common problem and is fast turning out to be a grave issue. Teen suicides issues are not something that came into news recently rather it is a common happening for some decades now. Teen suicide is the most common problems that is faced all over the world and it is one pressing issue that has been going on in regional, national as well as international levels. It is quiet shocking to note that teenage suicides are more in comparison to that of the adult suicide rates. Teens are not children and they are not adults as well which causes a lot of confusion and stress on them. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention carried out a survey on the top causes for occurrence of death. In this survey, it has been proven that suicide is the third most common cause for death all over the world. It is to be noted that homicide and accidents comes in the first two slots in this survey. Teen suicide is not only an emotional problem but with the kind of influence that it has, it is soon turning out to be one of the major social problems as well. Suicides in general cause a lot of havoc on the people who are related to the person in question and it opens up a lot of other problems as well (Murphy, 1999). Teenage and adolescents are the two most common age groups who are prone to taking off their own life. Some of the countries that records highest rates of teen suicide on a global level includes that of USA, Australia and also India. There are various causes that can be attributed to the occurrence of teen suicide. Most of the times teen suicides can be prevented by taking adequate steps at the right point of time. Some of the suicides are committed emotionally whereas some others are committed because of severe pain. Teen suicides can be categorized into different areas. Suicides can be avoided if the person takes time to think over the situation and this is not possible with the teens as they are highly impulsive. There are also more and more suicidal cases arising out of sexual orientation. It has been proved that teens who are bullied for their sexual confusions commits suicide on a larger scale. The occurrence of teen suicide is because of the emotional disturbance that a person in teen or adolescence undergoes. Those who are in their teens or early adolescence do not have the necessary exposure about life and they lack the knack to handle pressure. One of the most common causes for the teen suicide occurrence is the loss that one faces with regard to some near or dear ones. It is hard to take in the fact that their loved ones are no more with them. Teens cannot take in rejection and teens of today are getting more and more sensitive thereby opening up the contention that there are chances for more and more suicides to occur in the coming years. Rejection, losing someone whom they like tops the suicide cause list. As per the research performed under the Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian, most of the suicide case occurs because of the loss of some significant person in their life. The survey accounts nearly 42% teens and adolescent under this category. Next most common cause for the occurrence of teen suicides seems to be that of the increase in the competition in all fields. In this highly competitive world, teens and adolescent are under great pressure. A lot of things are thrust upon them simply because people think that it is the best age to achieve. One of the most common pressures seems to be in the area of academics where teens are under constant pressure to outperform their classmates and to top in everything. It is a well known fact that parents take a great amount of responsibility in shaping up the future of an individual. Care should be taken that the parents use this influence in a more positive way rather than putting up a lot of pressure on the teens (Poland, 1989). Occurrences of teen suicides are more among adolescent males than that of the adolescent females and this does not mean that frequency of occurrence of suicide is less in female. Both male and female teens resort to suicide but the female teens suicide method is easier to tackle with. It is to be noted that women opt for softer means of suicide attempts such as taking overdose of sleeping pills, cutting the wrist with knife and also going for other different methods. Male adolescent on the other hand resort to some hard methods and the most common one is that of the fire arms methods, jumping from great heights and also hanging themselves. Thus, the suicide rates of male teen are more than female teens merely because of the large number of suicide attempts failure on the part of female teens. Apart from these reasons, the teens are more prone to get depressed because of the hormonal changes. More and more teen deaths are occurred because of the alcohol consumptions and also drug intake. These practices if carried on in a regular basis will cause psychological disorders in the person which will happen to instigate them to resort to suicide. Lack of proper guidance and direction will drive a teen to suicide even on slightest aggravations. Sometimes the teens take up suicide to take vengeance on people who made them emotionally disturbed. The incidence of teen depression seems to be on the rise and there are more death tolls with regard to teen suicides alone. Prevention of teen suicides has become the need of the hour. There are various ways in which one can prevent the occurrence of teen suicides. Some of the best ways includes keeping a close watch on the teens which does not mean pricking them for everything rather it should be more casual. It is absolutely necessary to develop a friendly air with the teen member in the family. Teens get irritated at the slightest instance and it becomes necessary for one to watch out for their attitudes and behavior. Proper guidance and direction should be given to the adolescent member at the right time in order to shape up their future well (Gerali, 2009). Teen suicides can be prevented on giving the proper kind of treatment or counseling to the concerned person that will provide really fruitful results on a global level. The best way is to detect the signs and symptoms of depression at a much early stage in order to treat it appropriately well ahead before it engulfs the concerned person. It is the responsibility of every parent and teacher to mold the teens into a better person and care should be taken not to thrust undue pressure on them. Reference: Murphy, James. Coping with teen suicide. 1st Edition. Library of Congress, 1999. Poland, Scott. Suicide intervention in the schools. The Guilford Press, 1989. Gerali, Steven. What Do I Do When Teenagers Deal with Death?, 2009 McKinley, Jesse. Suicides Put Light on Pressures of Gay Teenagers , 2010 Read More