Teen Suicide and Leading Factors - Research Paper Example

? 12 April Teen suicide Teen suicide is one of the most serious and important issuesfor the governments in the contemporary age. Every year, hundreds of thousands of teenagers commit suicide everywhere in the world in general and in the US in particular. The gravity of problem of teen suicide in the US can be estimated from the fact that it happens to be is the third most important cause of death of people between 15 and 24 years of age in the US (“Teen Suicide, Mood”). In one year between from 2003 to 2004, there was found a noticeable increase in the number of teen suicides among teenage boys aged 15 to 19 and teenage girls aged 10 to 19 (Miller and Eckert 153). If a teenager commits a suicide, he/she most probably has a reason for doing so. Several studies have found that in at least 90 per cent of the cases of teen suicide, the teenagers suffer from some kind of mental disorder, which may include behavior problem, depression and anxiety, and drug abuse (“Teen Suicide, Mood”). The suicidal behavior in a teenager can be defined as the preoccupation of the teenager with an internal force to take his/her life voluntarily. The definition of suicide is incomplete without the personal consent of the individual who is committing it. The term used for the thoughts that cause a teenager to commit the suicide is “suicidal ideation”. On the other hand, the term “suicidal attempt” is used when a teenager attempts to take his/her life but remains unsuccessful in getting through. This paper discusses the risk factors and triggers for the disorder that cause a teenager to attempt suicide along with a discussion of the mood swings in such teenagers and the treatment options available for them. Most of the teenagers who attempt or want to attempt suicide suffer from a mood disorder which is generally known as the “bipolar disorder”. Another name for the bipolar depression is the “manic depression”. It is essentially a brain’s illness. Different teenagers experience mood disorders for different durations. Some experience it temporarily while others keep experiencing it off and on at different times in their life. These teenagers remain in the same mood for weeks, months or even years. “Teens with bipolar disorder, also called manic depression, may change between mania (angry or very happy), depression (sad or crabby), and euthymia (normal mood). Some teens have more mania, some have more depression, and some seem normal much of the time” (“Teen Suicide, Mood”). Sometimes, both depression and mania occur simultaneously, thus resulting into a mixed state. Causes of the bipolar disorder are not accurately known to date. There are numerous kinds of genetic, environmental and neurochemical risk factors that interact with one another at different levels, thus causing the bipolar disorder condition to result. Bipolar disorder is generally familial and may be transferred from one generation to another genetically. An individual who suffers from the bipolar disorder assumes anywhere between 15 and 25 per cent likelihood of transferring it to his/her children (Bressert). In the case where an individual whose non-identical twin suffers from the bipolar disorder, there is 25 per cent chance that the individual would also acquire this disorder which is the same percentage of risk if the bipolar disorder is found in both of the parents. There is a general consensus among the researchers that bipolar disorder happens in a particular section of the brain as a result of the malfunctioning of the neurotransmitters (Bressert). Since it is a biological disorder, this part of the brain may spontaneously be activated or lie dormant, but generally it is activated by stressors. “[I]n those with bipolar disorder, two major areas of the brain contain 30 percent more cells that send signals to other brain cells” (Read). There are also certain environmental risk factors that increase a teenager’s susceptibility to acquiring the bipolar disorder. A teenager who has a genetic disposition to the bipolar disorder can be triggered by a life event to commit suicide. In the case of lack of genetic risk factors, such habits as drug abuse and other factors like hormonal changes may trigger a depression episode, thus leading the teenager to the point of committing suicide. “Although substance abuse is not considered a cause of bipolar disorder, it can worsen the illness by interfering with recovery. Use of alcohol or tranquilizers may induce a more severe depressive phase” (Bressert). Another very important cause of stress in teenagers is the developmental issues. A significant population of the teenagers who commits suicide experiences developmental issues. “Adolescent developmental issues, speci?cally the tension between autonomy and relatedness, may clash with the traditional child-rearing beliefs of less acculturated parents and families, who may hold to rigid de?nitions of family life and adolescent behavior” (Zayas et al. 280). A teenager may want to commit suicide because of myriad of reasons. In the contemporary modernistic society driven by technology, teenagers are exposed to all kinds of risks, threats and challenges that have immense potential to motivate them to commit suicide. These factors include but are not limited to teenage pregnancy, leaked nude photos, bullying in the school, narcotics and drug addiction, depression and anxiety, and social exclusion. Teenagers commonly think of such drugs as marijuana as a means of relieving stress and depression. They are unaware of the immense potential of such drugs to actually trigger their tendency to commit suicide. “[U]sing marijuana can worsen depression and lead to more serious mental health disorders, such as schizophrenia, anxiety, and even suicide” (“Teen marijuana use” 1). Technology has provided teenagers with a way to explore the world beyond limits and when they are not guided and supervised appropriately, they are likely to be caught in heinous crimes and ultimately commit suicide. Teenagers that commit suicide but do not have any of such disorders generally are caught in such circumstances that cause them to commit suicide. In a vast majority of cases, it does not take a teenager too much time to plan the suicide. There is often a sudden and temporal but intense rush of guilt and/or uncomfortable feelings that causes the teenager to commit suicide. Mostly, had a teenager been able to cope with the temporal motivation to commit suicide, he/she would have survived definitely, though the temporal urge may arouse again depending upon the severity of disorder or the seriousness of circumstances in which the teenager is caught. “A non-lethal attempt, such as taking a small number of pills or making scratches on the wrist, may be followed by more lethal behavior at a later time” (“Teen Suicide, Mood”). In some cases, something as simple as receiving a bad grade in an exam may upset the teenager to the level that he/she may attempt suicide. A teenager that has attempted suicide at least once needs to be evaluated and examined physically and provided with treatment till the time he/she becomes physically stable. The initial physical examination and treatment is followed by the mental examination and treatment. The mental treatment commences with a thorough examination of all the events and circumstances that have happened in the life of the teenager at least the ones that happened within the week preceding the teenager’s attempt of suicide. Decision about the treatment needs is also influenced by a comprehensive study of the teenager’s family system and culture. There are several kinds of treatment options that can be provided to a teenager who has attempted suicide depending upon the teenager’s mental condition and circumstances that vary from case to case. The treatment options available include but are not limited to psychological and behavioral counseling, and family therapy. Sometimes, it is deemed necessary by the psychologists and/or doctors to hospitalize the teenager for some time in order to provide him with a safe environment at least for the length of time in which his/her mental condition is not stable. There is also a whole range of anti-depressant medications as well as goal-oriented psychotherapies that are readily used nowadays for the treatment of patients of depression and can also be prescribed to the depressed teenagers who are at risk of committing suicide (Grohol). In any kind of treatment process recommended for a teenager, the support of parents to the treatment provider is fundamental to the success of the treatment. Parents remain with the teenagers more than anybody else and are thus in a position to notice the mood swings that occur in their children. The first and the foremost measure that needs to be taken in order to prevent a teenager from committing suicide is noticing the sudden mood swings. Parents must keep constant check over the suspected child and immediately report to the psychologist and/or doctor when they notice change in the routinely behavior of their child. By keeping a check over the teenager together with providing the teenager with a healthy environment inside the home, parents can do a lot to reduce their child’s tendency to commit suicide, though appropriate medical consultation needs to be taken to achieve optimal results. Works Cited: Bressert, Steve. “The Causes of Bipolar Disorder (Manic Depression).” 2012. Web. 12 April 2012. . Grohol, John M. “Depression.” 6 Jan. 2012. Web. 12 April 2012. . Miller, David N. and Eckert, Tanya L. “Youth Suicidal Behavior: An Introduction and Overview.” School Psychology Review. Vol. 38. No. 2. pp. 153-167. 2009. Read, Kimberly. “What Causes Bipolar Disorder?” 22 April 2011. Web. 12 April 2012. . “Teen marijuana use worsens depression: an analysis of recent data shows “self- medicating” could actually make things worse.” 2008. Web. 12 April 2012. . “Teen Suicide, Mood Disorder, and Depression.” American Academy of Pediatrics. 2007. Web. 12 April. 2012. . Zayas, Luis H., Lester, Rebecca J., Cabassa, Leopoldo J., and Fortuna, Lisa R. “Why Do So Many Latina Teens Attempt Suicide? A Conceptual Model for Research.” American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. Vol. 75. No. 2. pp. 275-287. 2005. Read More