Teen Suicide Rates

[GMDino]

https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/suicide.html#

Quote:About Teen Suicide


The reasons behind a teen's suicide or attempted suicide can be complex. Although suicide is relatively rare among children, the rate of suicides and suicide attempts increases greatly during adolescence.


Suicide is the third-leading cause of death for 15- to 24-year-olds, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), after accidents and homicide. It's also thought that at least 25 attempts are made for every completed teen suicide.


The risk of suicide increases dramatically when kids and teens have access to firearms at home, and nearly 60% of all suicides in the United States are committed with a gun. That's why any gun in your home should be unloaded, locked, and kept out of the reach of children and teens.


Overdose using over-the-counter, prescription, and non-prescription medicine is also a very common method for both attempting and completing suicide. It's important to monitor carefully all medications in your home. Also be aware that teens will "trade" different prescription medications at school and carry them (or store them) in their locker or backpack.



Suicide rates differ between boys and girls. Girls think about and attempt suicide about twice as often as boys, and tend to attempt suicide by overdosing on drugs or cutting themselves. Yet boys die by suicide about four times as often girls, perhaps because they tend to use more lethal methods, such as firearms, hanging, or jumping from heights.




Which Teens Are at Risk for Suicide?

It can be hard to remember how it felt to be a teen, caught in that gray area between childhood and adulthood. Sure, it's a time of tremendous possibility, but it also can be a period of stress and worry. There's pressure to fit in socially, to perform academically, and to act responsibly.



Adolescence is also a time of sexual identity and relationships and a need for independence that often conflicts with the rules and expectations set by others.



Young people with mental health problems — such as anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, or insomnia — are at higher risk for suicidal thoughts. Teens going through major life changes (parents' divorce, moving, a parent leaving home due to military service or parental separation, financial changes) and those who are victims of bullying are at greater risk of suicidal thoughts.



Factors that increase the risk of suicide among teens include:

• a psychological disorder, especially depression, bipolar disorder, and alcohol and drug use (in fact, about 95% of people who die by suicide have a psychological disorder at the time of death)
• feelings of distress, irritability, or agitation
• feelings of hopelessness and worthlessness that often accompany depression
• a previous suicide attempt
• a family history of depression or suicide
• emotional, physical, or sexual abuse
• lack of a support network, poor relationships with parents or peers, and feelings of social isolation
• dealing with bisexuality or homosexuality in an unsupportive family or community or hostile school environment
  

https://www.healthyplace.com/suicide/why-do-teens-commit-suicide-causes-of-teen-suicide/

Quote:WHY DO TEENS COMMIT SUICIDE? CAUSES OF TEEN SUICIDE

When a suicide occurs, people want to know, why do teens commit suicide? Some people consider their teenage years the happiest years of their lives, so a teen suicide just doesn't make sense to them. But teens can suffer real pain and be in terrible situations and these can cause teen suicides.


Why Do Teens Commit Suicide? Emotional Causes
Most teens who have been interviewed after a suicide attempt say that what causes teen suicide are feelings of hopelessness and helplessness. Suicidal teens often feel like they are in situations that have no solutions. The teens can see no way out but death. The teens feel like they have no control to change their situations.


Other emotional teen suicide causes stem from trying to escape feelings of pain, rejection, hurt, being unloved, victimization or loss. Teens may feel like their feelings are unbearable and will never end, so the only way to escape is suicide.


Teens may also be afraid of disappointing others or feel like they are a burden to others, such as their parents, and these can be additional causes of teen suicide.


Teen Suicide Causes – Environmental Causes
Situations often drive the emotional causes of suicide. Bullying, cyberbullying, abuse, a detrimental home life, loss of a loved one or even a severe breakup can by contributing causes of teen suicide. Often, many of these environmental factors occur together to cause suicidal feelings and behaviors.


Ethan felt like there was no point going on with life. Things had been tough since his mom died. His dad was working two jobs and seemed frazzled and angry most of the time. Whenever he and Ethan talked, it usually ended in yelling.


Ethan had just found out he'd failed a math test, and he was afraid of how mad and disappointed his dad would be. In the past, he always talked things over with his girlfriend — the only person who seemed to understand. But they'd broken up the week before, and now Ethan felt he had nowhere to turn.


Ethan later went on to seek out his dad's gun with which to attempt to take his life.


As in the above example, it is typical that many factors – both emotional and environmental – contribute to the cause of a teen suicide or teen suicide attempt.


Mental Illness as a Cause of Teen Suicide
While all the above are driving factors of teen suicide, often the underlying issue is one of a mental illness. Most teens who attempt suicide do so because of depression, bipolar disorder or borderline personality disorder. These disorders amplify the pain a teen may feel. It is because of this that any suicidal teen should be treated by a medical professional.


Why Teens Commit Suicide
What's important to remember is that teens attempt or commit suicide not because of a desire to die, but, rather, in an attempt to escape a bad situation and/or painful feelings. It's rare that only a single event leads to suicide. This means that by helping a teen turn around a bad situation or by teaching her or him how better to deal with painful feelings, we can defeat the causes of teen suicide. Most times, this requires professional help by a doctor or a psychotherapist and may also involve the teen's school, such as in cases of teen bullying.

Many causes...many of which can build up over time.



Pay attention to your kids (and other's kids) and try and help.