Suicide Essay, Research Paper
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Suicide is intentional self-inflicted acts that end in
death(”Suicide,” Compton’s). After a series of traumatic
events, normal coping abilities can be pushed over the edge;
the result may be suicide. In each year, an average of
30,000 suicide deaths occur in the United States. It is
estimated that 5,000 of those suicides are committed by
teenagers(SAVE, 2). One major reason that the suicide rate
among teenagers is so high, is that the teenage years are a
period of commotion. New social roles are being learned,
new relationships are being developed, bodily changes are
occurring, and decisions about the future are being made
during the teenage years.
Teenagers tend to commit suicide after large changes,
significant losses, or abuse has occurred in their lives.
An important change in a relationship, school or body image
may contribute to a teenagers’ tendency to commit suicide.
The death of a loved one, the loss of a valued relationship,
and the loss of self esteem are some significant losses
which might be a factor in teen suicide(”The Real World
[Suicide: Facts],” 1). Perceived abuse such as physical,
emotional, psychological, sexual, social abuse or neglect
can lead to self-murder(”Teen Suicide,” 3). Significant
changes, losses, and abuse can promote suicidal tendencies.
Few suicidal people have some type of depression, yet
those who have one can be provoked to commit suicide. There
are two main types of depression suffered by
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suicidal people(”Suicide,” {Grolier}). The first type is
reactive depression. This type of depression is the
reaction of a difficult and often traumatic experience.
Endogenous depression is the second type of depression. It
is the result of a mental illness which is diagnosable by a
professional. Some suicidal people have a combination of
both reactive depression and endogenous depression. Others
could have a depression which is undiagnosed. A persistent
sad mood, thoughts of suicide, persistent physical pains
that do not respond to treatment, difficulty concentrating,
irritability and fatigue are some symptoms of
depression(American Psychiatric Association, 4). If a
person has four or more of the symptoms lasting for more
than two weeks, that person could have a type of depression.
Those people with mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and
clinical depression have much higher suicide rates than
average(Tom Arsenault, 2).
Teenagers display warning signs of suicide. The
indications come in two ways. First exhibited are the early
warning signs. These signs include difficulties in school,
depression, drug abuse, sleep and eating disturbances, and a
loss of interest in activities. Restlessness, feelings of
failure, overreaction to criticism, overly self-critical,
anger, and a preoccupation with death or Satan are also some
signals teenagers contemplating suicide will give(”Teen
Suicide,”
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3). The other type of clues are late warning signs.
Talking about death, neglecting appearance, a feeling of
hopelessness, a sudden improvement in personality, and
giving away possessions are some of the typical late warning
signs given by a suicidal teenager(”Teen Suicide,” 4). Not
everyone who portrays these symptoms is suicidal. In order
to know if a person is really thinking about committing
suicide, someone needs to ask them. Offering other ways to
deal with a suicidal persons’ problems, may save their life.
Most teenagers contemplating suicide would not commit it, if
they knew of another way out. By talking with someone who
is suicidal, that person might see that there are people who
love them.
Despite the efforts of people to stop a teenager from
committing suicide, some succeed. The statistics of
considered and completed suicide are shocking. Ten percent
of teenage boys admit that they have attempted suicide.
Girls in their teens have a much higher percentage(eighteen
percent), which will admit that they unsuccessfully tried to
commit suicide. A teenager in 1990 was twice as likely to
die from suicide than a teenager growing up in 1960. One of
the most startling teenage suicide facts is that since 1961,
there has been a tripling of completed teenage suicide(”The
Real World [Suicide: Facts],” 1-3).
When a teenager is able to successfully commit suicide,
they leave behind family and friends. In a
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normal death situation, people usually feel grief. When a
teenager performs suicide, family and friends left behind
experience many feelings. A feeling of confusion and great
distress over unresolved issues is very common. Family
members and friends often feel anger and resentment after a
suicide. These emotions can cause friends and family to
become very isolated feeling. A friend or family member may
find that it is difficult to relate to other people after a
suicide. These people may decide that other people view
them as a failure because they were unable to stop someone
close to them from committing suicide. A fear of forming
new relationships after a person has completed suicide is
common. People feel that by creating new relationships,
they might be hurt and experience the same pain they are
going through. In order to help people who have
experienced the suicide of someone they deeply cared about,
“survivor groups” have been created (”Suicide-Frequently
Asked Questions,” 6). Knowing they will be accepted without
being judged or condemned, helps a person go to a “survivor
group.” At a meeting, the people’s intense burden of
unresolved feelings may be lessened.
Suicide is the third leading killer among
teenagers(SAVE-Suicide AwarenessVoices of Education, 6).
Suicide can be committed for a number of reasons. Anyone
who talks about suicide, should be taken to see a
professional. The most important way to prevent suicide
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is to talk.
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American Psychiatric Association. “Teen Suicide.” APA
Joint Commission on Public Affairs and the Division
of Public Affairs. 1988. Pages 1-5.
Arsenault, Tom. “Did You Know?” http://www.save.org/
index.html//save@winternet.com. 1996. Pages 1-4.
“The Real World [Suicide: Facts].” http://www.paranois.
com/%7Ereal/suicide/facts.html. 1996. Pages 1-3.
SAVE-Suicide AwarenessVoices of Education. http://www.
save.org. 1996. Pages 1-6.
“Suicide.” Compton’s Interactive Encyclopedia.
Compton’s NewMedia, Inc. 1994.
“Suicide-Frequently Asked Questions.” Oxford University
Libraries Automation Service. http://www.lib.ox.
ac.uk/internet/news/faq/archive/suicide.info.html.
19 July 1996. Pages 1-8.
“Suicide.” Grolier Electronic Encyclopedia. Grolier
Electronic Publishing, Inc. 1995.
“Teen Suicide.” American Academy of Child and Adolescent
Psychiatry. 1996. Pages 1-5.
Teenage Suicide
Psychology 100
December 19, 1996