Young adults, they’re known to be moody or very emotional due to the experience of puberty or maturing. Emotions seem to run wild and to most parents, this is a common and normal phase for their children. Almost every adult would look at an overly upset teenager, and simply write it off as “teenage angst.” Which is why depression, self-harm, and suicides involving teenagers have become such a drastic social issue. It is easy to ignore and simply pass off as mood swings until the child has taken more drastic measures such as attempting suicide, committing suicide, or harming themselves physically. Last recorded in 2011, suicide was the third leading cause of teenage death (CDC). Parents, teachers, and even teenage peers need to know more about the signs and real causes of self-harm, suicide, and depression.
Self-harm is when someone causes physical damage to themselves in any way, usually involving scratching, cutting, and even burning various parts of the body. Some people may wonder why anyone would cause themselves physical pain under depressing or stressful situations; some may even pass it off as a cry for attention. The truth behind self-harm is most commonly to release emotional pain, or distract themselves from the stress and problems they handle in life. It becomes a way to cope with personal distress or emotional pain that they feel they can not express in any other way (helpguide). Though, as stated by Melinda Smith and Jeanne Segal, “Relief that comes from self-harming doesn’t last very long. It’s like slapping on a Band-Aid when what you really need are stitches.” Eventually, the pain comes back and the urge to do so again returns.
These problems can go unnoticed and unresolved for...
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...ir own. The more people that are aware of this issue and are willing to help, the better chances society has of lowering the rates of teen suicide or self-harm. Taking the time to be better educated on the issue instead of passing it off as a simple phase could be all it takes to save a life.
Works Cited
Caruso, Kevin. "Self-Injury Among Teens."suicide.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.
Davirro, Lexi. "Self-Injury & Self-Mutilation."pamf.org/. N.p., Oct. 2013. Web. 09 Mar. 2014.
Lohmann, Raychelle C. "Teen Angst." Understanding Suicide and Self-harm. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Mar. 2014.
Smith, Melinda, and Jeanne Segal. "Cutting and Self-Harm." HelpGuide.org. N.p., Feb. 2014. Web. 08 Mar. 2014.
"Warning Signs of Suicide in Children and Teens-Topic Overview." WebMD. WebMD, 3 May 2013. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.
"What Is Depression?" NotMYkid. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.
Self-harm, or self-mutilation, is the intentional action of harming oneself, generally without the intent to kill. It is estimated that over two million people self-harm in the United States alone (Pomere). When involved with depression, self-harm is generally used as a method of coping with stress and various feelings that they may be having. If depression manifests with feelings of inadequacies, one could feel like they deserve to be injured (Bartha). Over time, the act of self-injury could become an addiction. It could become an obsession (Pomere).
First, some people harm themselves simply because they can. A friend of Callie’s, Amanda, cuts herself and said to Callie, “Listen, I don’t see how what I do is so different from people who get their tongues pierced. Or their lips. Or their ears, for Chrissakes. It’s my body” (McCormick 37). She doesn’t see the harm in hurting herself which is why teaching this book could tell teenagers that this isn’t the path to go down and that there are other alternatives. She thinks that this is normal and a way to cope with her problems on a day-to-day basis. Amanda is one of the 1,400 out of 100,000, and growing, people who admitted to self-injury (Kennedy). Secondly, some people self-injure to cope with their feelings and tensions. Callie explains to her therapist about her father’s job situation and said, “’Now he just sells to companies nearby.’ I don’t tell you [her therapist] about how it seems like all the companies nearby already have computers, that for a while he took people out hoping they’d become customers and that now he mostly just goes out. ‘He has to work a lot’” (McCormick 111). Callie explained how her fathers situation seemed to cause her a lot of stress and how she seemed worried for him. To add, “some reasons why teens self-injure include: release of tension and feeling overwhelmed” (Styer). This is a lesson that could be taught in
What is self-harm / self-harm? Self harm happens when you hurt or harm yourself. There are many ways to do so. Some include overdose, cutting yourself,burning yourself, banging your head against a wall or something else hard, punching yourself, sticking things in your body. and swallowing things such as nails or other sharp objects.
Approximately 24% of 12-17 year olds have considered suicide and up to 10% have attempted suicide.” (Suicide Intervention Training PG 3). Teens today are very likely to commit suicide for various reasons. In today’s society there are a lot of judging and bullying cases around the world. No matter how much we promote a bully free zone there will always be a couple of cliques, or individuals, who want to bring others down and who do not know the seriousness of bullying. Although bullying is a big cause of suicide, the leading cause is a mental illness that many people are familiar with called depression. “Psychiatric disorders can affect diverse aspects of an individual’s life.”( Dispelling Myth Surrounding Teen Suicide, PG 1). If you or someone you know seems down most of the time, the best thing to do is to go see someone about your despair. If you are diagnosed with depression, prescribed depression medicine can help and can be one way to prevent suicidal thoughts or actions. “There is a lot of evidence that suicide is preventable.”(Cont. Principles of Suicide Prevention, PG
A mother finds her 17 year old teenage son hanging from the rafters of their basement. To hear of this occurrence is not rare in society today. Every 90 minutes a teenager in this country commits suicide. Suicide is the third leading cause of death for 15-24 year olds. The National suicide rate has increased 78% between 1952 and 1992. The rate for 15-19 year olds rose from two per 100,000 to 12.9, more than 600 percent. (Special report, Killing the Pain, Rae Coulli)
Suicide is one of the youth’s ways out of their problems, not only in the United States but the world. What does drive teens to suicidal thoughts and actions? What are the ways communities help prevent teenage suicide? Perhaps there are signs can be pointed out that would indicate a problem. In two surveys in 1996, both reported in the Journal of Adolescent Health, both also asked relatively the same questions of the violent actions that some people may see in life’. Surprisingly, the numbers for many of the questions were the same, such as teens who witnessed a shooting first hand; they both were about 37% (Pastore, Fisher, and Friedman 321-2). Using information such as this, one cannot blame the recent rise in teenage suicide with the violent problems of life, but more along the lines of depression caused by multiple things, for instance body image. According to many researchers, alcohol is many times a solution to a teen’s problem with life and the hardships people face in it. Many people in the United States overlook the major problem of teenage suicide; this is a mistake
Self-Harm and Suicide in Adolescence are two topics that are linked together but can have very different purposes and intentions behind them. While both are very concerning and painful topics they must be addressed separately due to their differences, while also acknowledging a tendency to coexist.
There are many causes which make a teenager contemplate suicide, such as bullying, depression, and substance abuse. The effects of someone committing suicide are tremendous; it can go from family, to friends, to other suicidal teens, causing devastation and even more suicides. The only hope for this epidemic is awareness and prevention. There are many prevention techniques such as, antidepressants and warning sign detection. Teen suicide is a serious problem and must be treated as such.
To get down to a serious level, self-harm isn’t something people should be doing. And for people who don’t, don’t look down upon people who do. For those of you who think cutting is a way to try to get attention, open your eyes. Think about how many people you personally know have talked about how they were cutting themselves the other night. Not very many I can imagine. That’s because people do, do it as a release from the pain that they are dealing with in life. They feel that the pain other people put them through is worse than self-inflicted pain. Isn’t that a terrible thought? They try to hide it from friends and family to not be a bother or attract attention to themselves. So, next time you see someone putting another person down, don’t ignore it and step in. You never know that you may be saving someone’s life.
Today, teenage suicide is considered a big issue in America. Many factors contribute to this action whether it is overdosing on alcohol and drugs, cutting ones wrist with a sharp object, or pulling the trigger of a gun to put an end to their existence. Suicide is on the rise due to many factors such as family issues, social issues, and psychological issues. Increased education and awareness for the victims and their families could drastically reduce the number of suicide attempts yearly.
Styer, Denise M. "An Understanding of Self-Injury and Suicide." Prevention Researcher Integrated Research Services, Inc., Vol. 13, Supplement. Dec. 2006: 10-12. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 16 Apr. 2014. .
Let us look into basic and generalized knowledge of self injury. Self injury (self harm or S.I.) is the act of harming yourself as a way of coping with emotional pain, frustration, and anger. Some view it as a suicide attempt or a precursor to a suicide attempt, but it is not a suicide attempt at all. Rather, it is a serious cry for help. When an individual turns to self injury, they look for an emotional release which gives them momentary calmness. “While self-injury may bring a momentary sense of calm and a release of tension, it's usually followed by guilt and shame and the return of painful emotions” (Self Injury 1). Self injury can also result in serious or even fatal injuries (1).
Now the eighth-leading cause of death overall in the U.S. and the third-leading cause of death for young people between the ages of 15 and 24 years, suicide has become the subject of much recent focus. U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher, for instance, recently announced his Call to Action to Prevent Suicide, 1999, an initiative intended to increase public awareness, promote intervention strategies, and enhance research. The media, too, has been paying very close attention to the subject of suicide, writing articles and books and running news stories. Suicide among our nation’s youth, a population very vulnerable to self-destructive emotions, has perhaps received the most discussion of late. Maybe this is because teenage suicide seems the most tragic—lives lost before they’ve even started. Yet, while all of this recent focus is good, it’s only the beginning. We cannot continue to lose so many lives unnecessarily.
Some of these are broken romances, family tension, problems at school, and other pressures. All though most of the time it is more than just one of these causes. There are many signs to look out for in a teen that will/may commit suicide. Child and adolescent psychiatrists recommend that if one or more of these signs occurs, parents need to talk to their child about their concerns and seek professional help when the concerns persist.