Self-Harm and Suicide Awareness

930 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Review of related literature the good and bad effects of peer pressure on teenager

Did you know that the third leading cause of death in America among young people is suicide? In 2010, 38,364 people died from suicide in the U.S. That’s nearly 2% of all deaths in America, which may not seem like a lot, but it can really add up. And, there are at least 25 suicide attempts for every completed suicide in the U.S. Many people, hopefully not in this room, self-harm or have thoughts of suicide. If you are one of these people, please know that there are more options than hurting or killing yourself. No matter how hard you think life can get, there are always positive things in life that make it worth living.
Some of the leading causes of suicide include depression (or low self-esteem), problems with relationships, school issues, or bullying because of weight, sexuality, or physical or mental performance.
Everyone has a mental picture of themselves; whether it’s how they look, what they’re good or bad at, and what their weaknesses and strengths are. A lot of people tend to think negatively about themselves, but they’re just looking at it the wrong way, and there are many ways to boost your self-esteem. If you are constantly thinking negative things about yourself, it’s bound to make you upset about who you are. Every day, try to write down three things about yourself that make you happy. Build up your self-esteem. Set mini goals for yourself, ones that you know you can get done, while still doing what you need to. Reward yourself. Let you know you are worth something and that you are good for something.
If relationships are a problem you’re facing, do something about it. If you are in an abusive relationship, which I’m hoping isn’t a problem for kids our age, get rid of that person. If you are having a problem with your...

... middle of paper ...

...o do it. Just don’t resort to cutting yourself.
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.

Show More
Related

  • The Book Scars by Cheryl Rainfield

    1760 Words  | 4 Pages

    Self-harm is not a crazy, attention seeking, or shameful act. It only is a way of coping with stress and pressure in life that one has. To some people, it is a way to keep them living. They release their emotional pain by causing physical pain on their body. Kendra cuts to run away from her fear. Demi Lovato stopped eating and started cutting because she get judged on her appearance and weakness. However, self-harm is just a bandage to a wound that needs stitches. It may bring temporary relieve yet worse long term effects. Having wrong conceptions and making self-harm an embarrassing topic when discuss only push people in deeper pain. People deserve to feel better and they definitely can get there without hurting themselves.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Self-Term Essay

    846 Words  | 2 Pages

    Most often, the cause of people self harming is depression, PTSD, or other serious medical conditions. These people feel like they are going nowhere in life and that they cannot find any relief, so they cut themselves. Cutting may seem pointless to some, but to these people who self harm, its not, its what keeps them alive. They are addicted to it, and without it, they don't feel any relief.... ...

    Read More

  • Surviving Suicide: Isolated by Social Stigmas

    2023 Words  | 5 Pages

    Suicide is the eleventh most common cause of death in the United States. According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, a person takes their own life once every fourteen minutes in the United States (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention [AFSP], 2011). Still, with suicide rates so high, suicide is a taboo topic in our society. Though suicide is intended to end one person’s pain, it causes an immeasurable amount of pain and suffering to loved ones close to the deceased.

    Read More

  • Unseen Struggles: Abby's Tragic Tale

    513 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • The Epidemic of Male Suicide

    1248 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the past decade, suicide rates have been on the incline; especially among men. According to the New York Times (2013), “From 1999 to 2010, the suicide rate among Americans ages 35 to 64 rose by nearly 30 percent… The suicid...

    Read More

  • Teen Suicide Essay

    536 Words  | 2 Pages

    Teen suicide can result from a number of scenarios. When you hear of teens who commit suicide, a lot of people would think it's due to the most common cases which are unhappiness or depression. But in fact, there are different factors to what causes suicide. For an example, as stated in the article Teen Suicide from Kids Health, teens attempt suicide for multiple reasons. These reasons revolve around psychological problems such as anxiety, bipolar disorders, or drug abuse or even dealing with bisexuality or homosexuality in an unsupportive family or hostile school environment. The individuals who usually face th...

    Read More

  • Suicide: The Causes And Side Effects Of Suicide

    1562 Words  | 4 Pages

    It can often be used as a distraction from emotional distress and a way to release feelings the person has help in for so long. They often feel relief and a sense of calmness after performing the act. This is known as cutting or self-mutilation. Some forms of self-mutilation are cutting, burning, hair-pulling, pinching, scratching, picking at scars, and head-banging. People who self-mutilate often have a history of abuse, whether it be sexual, emotional, or physical. Self-mutilation often piggy backs onto other mental health problems such as eating disorders, substance abuse, schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and many other mental illnesses. Most people who self-harm often have low self-esteem and are perfectionists. They are often very impulsive and have poor problem-solving

    Read More

  • Facts and Myths of Suicide in Canada and the U.S. (Article Critique)

    848 Words  | 2 Pages

    Suicide is the intentional act of killing oneself. Typically individuals who commit suicide act out of despair. Common suicide triggers are mental disorders such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and alcoholism and drug abuse. Personal issues such as financial problems or poor interpersonal relationships play a significant role in the cause of suicide (Gross, 2006).In the U.S suicide is the 6th cause of death. Suicide is also the leading cause of death among teenagers and young adults, more men commit suicide than women (Gelder et al, 2005).Leenar and Lester article mention important information about the general knowledge about suicide in college students. However relevant information is missing.

    Read More

  • Self Harm In Adolescents

    1173 Words  | 3 Pages

    Adolescents likely hide the majority of their self-harm and they are able to function in society. The adolescents may hide their injuries in order to keep away attention and embarrassment. When being diagnosed it is important to recognize and find the concurrent issue. This could be anything from anorexia, bulimia, depression, anxiety, or substance abuse. One possibility that could be overlooked is that the adolescent could suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. This could be stemmed from child abuse, sexual abuse, or neglect. It is very important that the counsellor develops a sense of trust with the adolescent. This is because if the reason for self-harm stemmed from abuse it may be difficult for the adolescent to open up at all. The major components to help decrease and end self-harm is to identify and express the adolescent’s emotions and to find a healthy and constructive means to cope. It is important that the adolescent learns the full dynamic on why they self-harm this includes the original source of the problem and why it is a defective coping mechanism. It is imperative that the adolescent find other ways to cope. These methods needs to be free of shame inducing and use cognitive and behavioral ways of dealing with triggering situations. When using behavioral methods the adolescent will discover other means of coping and should be rewarded for the reduction in frequency and severity of self-injury.

    Read More

  • Causes of Suicide

    2145 Words  | 5 Pages

    Before elaborating on what causes suicide it should be understood what we mean by cause. The Oxford English Dictionary defines cause as “a person or thing that gives rise to an action, phenomenon or condition.” This essay will in part examine the methods employed by suicidal patients though this is secondary to whatever caused them to make this decision. The essay will consider the epidemiology of suicide (also regarding suicide clustering) followed by the potential genetic risk factors. This will be followed by the psychological factors such as depressive disorders, and finally the environmental risk factors such as low socioeconomic status and substance abuse.

    Read More

  • Suicide Prevention

    1876 Words  | 4 Pages

    “Suicide is not chosen; it happens when pain exceeds resources for coping with pain” (I-10). Ending a life is a big step in the wrong direction for most. Suicide is the killing of oneself. Suicide happens every day, and everyday a family’s life is changed. Something needs to be done to raise awareness of that startling fact. Suicide is a much bigger problem than society will admit; the causes, methods, and prevention need to be discussed more openly.

    Read More

  • The Problem of Teenage Suicide

    1928 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Teen Suicide: A Growing Problem

    1535 Words  | 4 Pages

    Suicide is the third leading cause of death for 15 to 24 year olds, and the sixth leading cause for 5 to 14 year olds. Suicide accounts for twelve percent of the mortality in the adolescent and young adult group. Young males are more common than young woman suicides. These are only children who followed through with the suicide. For every successful suicide there are fifty to one hundred adolescent suicide attempts. In other words, more than five percent of all teenagers tried to commit suicide, and the number is still rising. It is scary to think that four percent of high school students have made a suicide attempt within the previous twelve months. In a small safe town like Avon, in the Avon High School where you and I practically live, you can see the faces of 22 students that have tried to commit suicide. That is enough to fill a classroom.

    Read More

  • Suicide among college students

    2673 Words  | 6 Pages

    academic failure, financial stableness, not reaching the goal that is desired and many more. According to the National Association for Suicide Prevention everyone has different reasons for being depressed and the extent of that depression will also vary from person to person. Some common causes of depression that have been found to lead to college suicide are not feeling loved or understood, the feeling of rejection, trouble with friends and family, or the feeling of being “no good”, and not reaching the academic standards (42). Kay Jamison, a professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University said in the Universi...

    Read More

  • Cause And Effect Essay About Suicide

    1001 Words  | 3 Pages

    Suicide is one of the most common death around the world. Life is just taking away very easy by someone or yourself. We have study the causes of someone killing themselves, but our human behavior can easy change and eventually make that deciduous. The causes and effects of suicide are depression, the past meaning your life before, and feeling unloved or lonely. The effects are the people that loved you are going to be depress, never reach those goals that you set for yourself, and people that loved you will feel the guilt.

    Read More

More about Self-Harm and Suicide Awareness

Open Document