Why do Teenagers Commit Suicide?

 

Teenage is a crucial phase that every human being has to pass through in a lifetime. It is a period that brings a lot of challenges for sensitive teenagers. These challenges may affect teenagers in common or different ways. Some emerge victorious through this critical juncture in life whereas others fail to do so. Often these youths are not able to cope with the sense of burden and pressure that teenage bring along with them. Their inability to arrive at a solution forces them to take drastic steps to bring an end to the pain that they undergo. Self-harm or suicide is the path they choose when they cannot escape from their world of extreme misery.

Why Do Teenagers Consider Suicide?

Suicide is the third major cause of death between the age group 15 to 24. The reason why teenagers commit suicide can be complex. Near ones may be at a loss to understand what could have made their child take the most devastating step for ending their life. They have mixed feelings of confusion and guilt for having ignored the warning signs of suicide. Accessibility to certain things can make teens vulnerable to suicidal tendencies. Below are listed a few ways that provide teens with the exposure that culminates in death:

Firearms are kept at home for safety purposes, but this very safety feature can bring the worst news to a family. Children and teens are more susceptible to suicide when they have unhindered access to firearms at home. More than half of US teenagers die in suicide because parents never considered keeping firearms away from their reach. Therefore, these firearms must be unloaded and kept in a safe place that would restrict teens from using them.

Accessibility to prescriptions is another reason behind teens making impulsive decisions. A medicine cabinet is often the source of prescriptions or medicines for a teenager. Besides, they may even trade prescriptions at school and hide them in a locker or backpack. Teens may often take advantage of illegal websites that provide medicines without asking for a prescription. Parents must endeavour to cut off this accessibility to prescriptions and medicines for teens. Additionally, unused and expired medicines should be disposed of at once.

There is little study to support that puberty or hormonal changes might make teens, particularly girls more prone to suicidal behaviour. Although boys die more by suicide, suicide ideation is more common in adolescent girls.

Which Teens are Susceptible to Suicide?

Life is an adventure that is full of risks. Some have a positive outlook whereas others develop a negative perception. However, it is particularly the teen life that is the most vulnerable. Listed below are the reasons as to which teens are more susceptible to suicide:

Teens with mental health problems like stress, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and insomnia are at greater risk of attempting suicide. 60% of adolescent suicide attempters were reported to have some form of depressive illness.

Teens undergoing major life shifts may undergo mental breakdowns that may lead to suicide. These changes could be divorce or parents leaving for military service, financial changes etc.

Teens having unrealistic expectations are dissatisfied and disappointed with life. Consequently, that may have an adverse and negative impact on their mind which may develop into suicidal tendencies.

Bullying is often common in schools and teens can fall prey to it. They may become more isolated and experience mood swings that may eventually culminate into suicidal tendencies.

Introvert teens prefer keeping their thoughts to themselves. They become isolated because they feel they are largely misunderstood. Research from 2001 suggests that introversion and depression are linked. These mental health problems often aggravate to become suicidal behaviour.

Teenagers with any form of addiction like alcohol or drug abuse have a tendency to inflict self-harm. As per studies, substance abuse is often responsible for completed suicide, suicide ideation and suicide attempts.

Physical, mental and emotional abuse also pushes teens towards suicide.

According to research, breakups are the highest cause of psychological distress and suicide among young people.

Addiction to social media influences teens in an unhealthy way. They may get deeply affected by online content promoting self-injury or self-harm. Addiction to social media also disconnects teens from the real world into a make-believe world. In the absence of online support from other social media users, teens may get overwhelmingly depressed which may lead directly to suicide. Cyberbullying is another major cause that makes teens attempt suicide.

Pressure to succeed may become an obsession among teens. Failure to bring the desired results may cause extreme guilt that may eventually take the form of suicide.

Lack of financial support or financial instability can also make teens repeat thoughts of self-harm.

Suicide is genetic and a family history of suicide can make teens more susceptible to self-harm.

Impulsive behaviour among teens can also claim their lives. The prefrontal cortex in the brain, responsible for logic and reasoning is not fully developed in teens. This causes them to often take impulsive actions without prior thought and understanding.

Teens who have made a previous suicide attempt are more prone to a second attempt. According to Cavanagh 2003, 40% of suicide attempters in the US have made a prior attempt.

Teens who don’t receive support for their gender identity from society are bullied often. Consequently, they consider committing suicide as the ultimate solution to their problems.

Mood disorders including irritability, anger, and agitation can often give rise to suicidal tendencies.

Feelings of social exclusion or isolation can give rise to negative thoughts. This can be a major contributing factor in a suicide attempt.

Failure in exams can give rise to feelings of extreme embarrassment and guilt which becomes a reason strong enough to claim a teen’s life.

How Parents Can Watch Out for Teens with Suicidal Behaviour?

A teen’s behaviour often manifests as possible warning signs before attempting suicide. Parents must be on the lookout for these flags to prevent a suicide attempt. Listed below are some warning signs that teens often exhibit before making a suicide attempt:

Teens mentioning suicide or death often provide hints about suicidal behaviour.

Showing disinterest in daily activities and dissociating from the external world can be a possible sign towards a suicide attempt.

Parents should watch out for teens with mental health problems that tend to aggravate with time.

Childhood trauma may be one factor that may lead to a teen’s suicide attempt.

Teens showing an interest in prescriptions or medicines may have suicidal tendencies.

Writing poems, stories, and letters about death and loss can be a warning sign that parents should monitor closely.

Teenagers giving away their prized possessions to siblings or close ones might be a reason to worry for parents.

Teens behaving oddly can serve as a possible warning sign for a suicide attempt.

Imprisonment can tarnish a teen’s image in the eyes of their family, schoolmates and neighbours. This can make teens commit suicide.

What can Parents do to Prevent Suicide?

Once parents detect warning signs of suicidal tendencies in their children, they must have an honest conversation with them. Parents must always be approachable and available for their children. The latter must receive constant support and love from their family. A teenager needs to feel protected and cared for. A simple problem may seem magnanimous for a teen, and they may tend to overreact. Parents need to maintain their calm and suggest a solution. Overall, parents must be patient and put zero pressure on their teens.

The second step is to get professional help from a trained mental health specialist. Consulting a psychiatrist or psychologist is a timely intervention that parents must undertake to prevent a suicide attempt. Even if teens show signs of improvement, parents must avoid skipping sessions with the specialist. Parental support to continue with the treatment is necessary. Additionally, they must also see to it that their children take their medications on time. If teens don’t open up about their problems, it is advisable to make them communicate with some other person like a relative, a coach, or a counsellor.

Asking questions like, “Are you feeling sad or depressed?”, “ Are you thinking lately about hurting or killing yourself?” can be a preliminary initiative from a parent.

Sometimes parents cannot properly communicate with their teens. They fear planting the idea of suicide in their child’s head. However, it’s best to approach the question rather than mourn a loss. If the child has been talking lately about death, it's time for parents to immediately act.

If teens refuse to seek professional help, it's best to reach out to the doctor for help. Often a professional help may suggest ways to make the child agree to meet them.

Parents must cooperate with professional help and maintain a healthy and conducive environment in their home. They must resolve any ongoing conflicts in the family.

Parents must also make teens understand the harmful effects of social media and the importance of limiting their social media usage. They must also ensure that they develop an interest in making real meaningful connections.

How Parents Could Cope Up if they Lost their Child to Suicide?

Parents losing their children to suicide are overburdened with feelings of grief and loss. They feel depressed and their pain becomes unbearable for them to deal with. It is high time that they spend most of their time with their family to share their grief together. Staying isolated for a given period is necessary for a quiet time of reflection. However, finding expression and providing support to one another may help in conquering the pain eventually.

Parents might be feeling guilty, but it is important to accept those feelings rather than fight with them. Often acceptance is the key to solving a problem. Parents must learn to forgive themselves above all as it will help them to move on from their feelings of guilt. Members of a family might also feel angry towards the teen for having done something so selfish. In that case, they need to stop blaming others for the circumstances and find peace.

Parents can also join a support network group to provide help to teens and their families to prevent any suicide attempts. By motivating teens, the amount of satisfaction and solace received is paramount and hard to ignore.

What to Do if the Teen Survived Through their Suicide Attempt?

Teens who have attempted suicide previously might go for a second one. They must be admitted to a psychiatric hospital or program and kept under constant observation. Proper medications and counselling must be incorporated into their lives. Once the child is back in their daily life, parents must communicate with their teachers, and schoolmates to provide support and encouragement to them. An adult need to be entrusted to provide support to their teen if they have committed a suicide attempt because of a bully at school. Parents must also encourage teens to continue making practices like journaling, meditation and yoga a daily routine. They must also take their children out of their homes into nature to have a walk or watch the sunset. If there are any ongoing problems at home, they must try to resolve them peacefully. Apart from providing professional guidance and support, parents must motivate teens to replace their negative thoughts with positive ones. For that purpose, they can be introduced to motivational content that will inspire and improve their way of living.

Wrap up!

Teenagers committing suicide have been grabbing headlines since the beginning. It is a life-threatening attempt that is caused by complex reasons. Teenagers experience varying emotions that are difficult to deal with. Therefore, family members particularly parents should be extra cautious when their children become teens. They should carefully look for the warning signs of a suicide attempt. Additionally, they must also take the necessary steps to prevent a suicide attempt from turning into a reality. With proper actions and timely intervention, teens can be brought out from their dark and gloomy world into an environment that is filled with peace, mental comfort and happiness.