Antoinette Skrelja

1st hour
5-26-15
Teen Suicide: All Too Real

In modern society, we must deal with very real problems like teen suicide among
our future leaders of the world. Like the NAMI organization had written, statistics show
that Suicide is now the eighth leading cause of death overall in the US, and the third
leading cause of death for young people between the ages of 15 to 24 years, suicide has
become the subject of recent focus. (NAMI) Many people dont even know what teen
suicide is and chose to not learn about it, in summary teenage suicide is young adults who
deem themselves not qualified to live any longer and dont see a future for themselves
and they think their only escape from this feeling of anxiety and worthlessness is to take
their own life. What many people dont know is that it is more than just sadness that
influences one to take their own life, many factors play a role in triggering the suicide.
However, it can be prevented if family and peers pay attention to the signs and treat it as
a serious matter, some signs one could look for is the teen talks about death often, gives
valuables away, experience changes in mood and eating habits etc. Teen Suicide is a
cause thats been ignored for far to long, society must recognize this and help try and
prevent it. One in five teens suffer from suicide or thoughts of suicide. The reason
because is there are social media sites expressing dark posts and images and there are
triggers, illnesses and environmental reasons surrounding why teen choose death over
facing the real problem.

Initially, people dont think social media sites are harmful and it is just a thing
teens like to do, and its true but it can also be enjoyable for the wrong reasons. Many
teens have access to anything they wish to view on social media, so teens suffering with
the contemplation of suicide can search what they wish to influence them even more so.
Many people post dark and disturbing things that can only leave a mark on someone else
for a terrible cause. One social media account in particular is Tumblr, there many teens
blog pictures, texts of anything they wish to show freely. For instance Just a quick
Google search of tumblr, dark, and suicide rendered over 18 million blogs and
images related to these terms. (Velez) How sad and frightening it is that teens that need a
reason to commit something so terrible as suicide can search it at the tips of their fingers.
Sites like that become and escaped from reality for troubled teens, and parents dont
monitored whats going on and by the time they do the damage is done. Many harmful
and saddening things are written all over tumbler by teens seeking help. A teen lost to
suicide named Lela Alcorn had written her suicide letter and posted it, whats that say
about our society? I think that says we need to be more aware of peoples feelings and
actually try and understand how feelings work and what others must go through and that
we all react and act differently.
Furthermore, research shows that many teens accompany a mental illness and
triggers of wanting to commit suicide. Teens dealing with a disorder like depression,
bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, alcohol and drug abuse can cause them to be
withdrawn from family and friends, they can have personality changes and feel neglected,
hopeless, and guilty. They feel vulnerable and alone so it makes it even harder to want to
participate in any sort of activity. Triggers can be dangerous too because when they

overlap with someone dealing with an illness, the littlest things can set them off to want
and follow through with suicide. And it can be anything, but there are common patterns
as to why suicides happens, like for instance There are many common situations and
circumstances that seem to lead to such extreme measures-failing a big exam, breaking
up with a boyfriend/girlfriend. (NAMI) Its baffling to think that the littlest things that
are apart of our daily lives to others seem like nothing, but can mean everything to a
person dealing with a mental illness. It just shows how dangerous a mental illness can be
to someone if not treated properly, and almost all illnesses can be treated so you dont
feel that way for the most part. They dont like the feeling of disappointment and
rejection because I feel they think it belittles them even more than what they already
think.
Ultimately, triggers, illnesses, and social media can be categorized under the
environment a suicidal teenager will find himself or herself in. When I say environment I
mean the thing that causes his or hers stress in her life, something that drastically
changes. Some examples could be moving schools, parents divorcing, and a death of a
loved one, conflict within the family that makes it hard for the teen to deal with. It like a
never ending cycle because problems within the environment can cause a mental illness
which will only leave them more susceptible to triggers which lead to suicide. At this age,
they a trying to figure out where they should be and where they belong in all different
types of environments, I believe the one that has the most effect is school. Its hard to
belong and not feel neglected and it can really take a toll on a kid trying to find their
identity, Its a period of stress and worry- theirs pressure to fit in socially, to perform
academically, and to act responsibly. (Kids Health) Having that much stress can cause

anyone to break down. The important thing is to have your family and friends by your
side openly talking about your troubles and they need to let him/her know they are there
for them, just that little bit can prevent a lot. It also very important to pay attention to how
they act, especially to one who has tried committing suicide before because you will save
their life. I think they key thing is being able to communicate with the person; they may
think they dont care to hear it but they really do.
Suicidal teens should not be ignored any longer, and should be given the
opportunity to be treated and feel better about themselves and carry out a happy life.
People should be educated more often on risks and reasons why suicide happens, and
maybe then can it be prevented. You may think why should you care, but to families who
have loss a loved one to suicide would argue that no one should have to go through that
pain, both the suicidal and family. Even though the suicide rates of dropped tremendously
within the pat 30 years, it still existing today, so instead of just dealing with it being
around why not try and diminish it. Teen suicide is a tragedy because no life should be
taken before it even got to live, to all teens battling thoughts of suicide and attempts,
dont; I promise you life gets better.

Citation:

"TeenageSuicide."NAMI:NationalAllianceonMentalIllness.N.p,n.d.
Web.26May2015.
"AboutTeenSuicide."KidsHealththeWeb'sMostVisitedSiteabout
Children'sHealth.Ed.MichelleJ.New.TheNemoursFoundation,01Jan.
2012.Web.26May2015.
"TeenSuicideIsPreventable."Http://www.apa.org.N.p,n.d.Web.26May
2015.
Velez,Mandy."TeensAreBloggingAboutSuicideontheInternetAnd
NoOneIsTalkingAboutIt."TheHuffingtonPost.TheHuffingtonPost.com,
n.d.Web.26May2015.