In the past year, the suicide rate among youths and teenagers has increased by around 58 per cent. In Kenya, two young girls trended in the past few months for taking their own lives. The two are just the ones the whole country came to know about. Some several other young boys and girls have lost lives by their own hands.
In the US, a famous became subject for conversation at the start of February this year for hanging herself. In Canada, every other month, youth or teen goes viral for committing suicide. This is just the recent cases that took social media by storm. According to the WHO and other prominent organizations, suicide has become increasingly common among people between 10 and 24 years of age.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also announced that suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people between 10 and 24. This is a worrying trend. In this post, we will be discussing the reasons why teenagers and youths are succumbing to suicide at an alarming rate;
Change
Adolescence is a vulnerable stage. When children are developing their sense of self, beginning to pay attention to who they are or can be. For this reason, it is harder for them to get through rough times in life. Adults usually depend on their core sense of who they are to get through rough times. The sense of who they are also helping adults get a lot of stability.
When kids reach adolescence, they also experience a lot of changes at once. Puberty is the main change but not the only one. For instance, their environment changes as they enter high school. This is often a significant change because high school is less personal and usually larger. All these changes weaken their safety nets and put them in a vulnerable state.
The circumstances mentioned above are one of the reasons why adolescents or teens are vulnerable to suicide. Research published in May 2017 by the Pediatrics Academic Societies showed that the rate of children and teens who have suffered suicidal and self-harm thoughts in the last decade has doubled.
Emotional causes
According to research, most teens who have been interviewed after a suicide attempt say that feelings of hopelessness and helplessness triggered the situation. These teens have found themselves in cases where they feel there is no solution. Teens usually have a hard time-solving problem. Therefore, when something traumatic like losing a loved one or heartbreak happens to them, they feel like there is no tomorrow. This is why there have been cases where teens have committed suicide over a breakup or loss of a parent. They often see no way out, but death. They feel like they have no control to change the situation, and the pain could never go away.
Therefore, teens also commit or attempt suicide because they try to escape pain, rejection, hurt, unloved, victimized or loss. Most teens feel like these feelings could never go away. When it becomes too much, they choose to escape through suicide.
Additionally, teens may attempt or commit suicide because they feel like they are a burden. For instance, if they do not get love or attention from parents, they feel like they are a burden, and their parents’ life would be better if they were not around. Therefore, they choose to be no more by taking their own life.
Environmental causes
Environmental causes like bullying, abuse, cyberbullying and detrimental home life are also significant causes of suicide among teens and youths. Adverse environmental causes can trigger suicidal thoughts. For instance, when a child gets bullied online and in school, they feel that since they cannot drop out and if they did, life would be worse, the best option would be to die. Detrimental home environment and abuse is also a common cause of suicide. For instance, if a teen is abused or mistreated at home, they find themselves in a situation where they do not have a way out. Running away would mean living in the streets, going to relatives would mean having to explain the situation they are often afraid to do. Therefore, most of them turn to suicide.
Mental illness
Mental illness is a driving factor of suicide in general. Most teens and youths that attempt or commit have underlying mental health disorders. Depression is the leading mental health disorder resulting in suicide among teens and kids. The sad thing is that most people do not notice that their loved ones or friends are depressed until it is too late.
Whenever people hear that a friend, someone they know or loved one has passed away by their own hands, you will listen to comments like “I wish I called you more often” I wish you felt free enough to share” “I wish you could have reached out.”
Most people do not realize that when people go through suicidal thoughts, it is hard to share them. It is challenging because of the history of people mocking or shaming people for admitting their struggles. Every once in a while you will come across comments like “try this method” “life is bad for everyone to grow up” on social media posts where someone speaks of suicidal thoughts or attempts. Some people cry for help for months before taking their own lives, and people do not take it seriously.
Take Note
It is safe to say that we have failed when it comes to handling suicide attempts, mentions and dealing with people with mental health challenges as a society. We have been unable to recognize when our loved ones are hurting. The best thing to do would be not to wait until someone is gone so that we can share our shock and what we wish we could have done.
Final word
Do you have a school mate that has been struggling with loss and being bullied? Has your child displayed any changes in their behavior like stopping to hang out with a friend and locking themselves in their room more? Has your friend experienced a terrifying loss in their life? Do you have a neighbor that is always alone and rarely socializes? Do you have a social media friend or follower that is continually posting depressing content or speaking of death? If the answer to this question is YES, then what have you done about it?
Start by saying hi, inviting the person to an event or asking them to hang out. This is a great way to get into good graces with the person and help them feel like someone cares. You do not have to go in with, motivational quotes and words like “I’m here if you need me”. The best thing to do is actually to be there.
Remember that in some cases, doing the above may not do the trick, especially if there is a mental health issue involved. In this case, the best thing to do is talk to a professional and get an intervention on the way.