Teenage Suicide: Prevention Through Understanding and Communication

While any loved one's death is essentially painful, it becomes doubly painful when a son our daughter looses his/ her life through suicide. It is perhaps one of the greatest pains for parents to face. In some cases, parents do not have a clue what their children are going through and end up wondering for years why their children chose such an option.

Although some may not want to take a young person's talk of suicide seriously, believing that perhaps there is no real danger, there is cause for alarm. According to recent statistical research, suicide is the third major cause for deaths of people belonging to the 15-24 age bracket, with more male deaths than females.

Teenagers, just like adults, may have differing personal reason for wanting to commit suicide, but there are common reasons that may serve as general categories by which personal reasons may be categorized. While it is never a good idea to stereotype cases and especially not adolescents, parents may need to pinpoint instances which may lead to their son/ daughter's potential harm. Understandably, adolescence is a difficult and confusing transition period. During this stage, teenagers begin to undergo biological and social changes that may depress or frustrate them. It is this possible frustration or depression that may be the primary reason that teenagers may want to contemplate death as a better alternative.

Of course there are many possible instances that may become frustrating and teenagers DO get frustrated and depressed. They may be tremendously affected by many different realities such as bodily changes that may make them feel awkward, insecure and on top of that, may make them the object of peer criticism. Teenagers also normally feel terrible over the breakup of emotional connections to people, from their own personal relationships to possibly that of their parents. Consider too, the possible emotional toll of undergoing, say, a great academic failure, public humiliation by peers or other kinds of failures for which teens may have aspired the opposite of.

When these life-changing events happen, it is best to look for the signs that a suicide may be attempted. Parents should watch for depressive moods, social withdrawal, alcohol abuse, erratic or uncharacteristic behavior, hostile behavior and especially talks of suicide.

While it is obviously advisable to keep guns and other harmful weapons and even prescription medicine under lock and key, one cannot prevent teens from looking for alternative methods to take their lives. It is therefore imperative that aside from taking the necessary precautions, parents should also attempt to communicate with their children. Communication of course entails both talking and listening, teenagers who have deep-seated problems and frustrations may want to go with the latter part of the communication process. It is understood that at such a state, teens definitely do not want to be talked down to or directly advised. Many times, teens just want to be heard and to feel that someone cares enough to listen and to understand.

Teen suicide is a reality and unless we pay attention, we may suffer one of the greatest losses of our lives.