Teen suicide is becoming more common every year in South America. In fact, only car accidents and murders (murders) kill more people between the ages of 18 and 30, so that suicide is the third leading cause of death in adolescents and young people in the general classification at age 14 to 22 years old.
Thinking about suicide, it is common for young people about death to some degree to hold. Teens’ thinking abilities in a way that they think to mature deep – about their existence in the world, the meaning of life, and other basic questions and ideas. In contrast to children, young people recognize that death is permanent. You can begin to consider spiritual or philosophical questions, like what happens when people die. To some, death and suicide, like poetic (consider Romeo and Juliet, for example). For others, death seem frightening or a source of concern. For many, death is mysterious and beyond our human experience and understanding.
Thinking about suicide is about normal young people can have ideas about life and death. I wish to be dead to think about suicide or feeling helpless and hopeless as you solve the problems of life are signs that a teenager may be in danger – and in need of help and support. Beyond thoughts of suicide, actually makes a plan or carrying out a suicide attempt is still serious.
What makes some young people start, thinking about suicide – and worse, to plan or do something with the intention of terminating their own lives? One of the biggest factors is depression. Suicide attempts are usually made when a person is seriously depressed or angry. A teen who is suicidal may see no other way out of problems no other way out of emotional pain, or communicate any other way, their desperate unhappiness.
The relationship between depression and Suicide
The majority of suicide attempts and suicide deaths occurred in teenagers with depression. Consider these statistics about teen suicide and teen depression: about 1% of all teenagers attempted suicide and about 1% of suicide attempts resulting in death (ie, about 1 in 10,000 teenagers die by suicide). But for young people who have depressive disorders, the rates of suicidal thinking and behavior are much higher. Most young people who have depression think about suicide do, and between 15% and 30% of teens with major depression who are thinking about suicide to continue after a suicide attempt.
Note that most of the time for most teenagers depression is a passing fancy. The sadness, loneliness, sadness and disappointment we all feel sometimes normal reactions to some of the struggles of life. With the right support, some resilience, an inner conviction that there is a bright day, and decent management strategies, most teenagers can use the depressive mood that sometimes when life throws you get a curve ball happened.
But sometimes depression not to lift after a few hours or a few days. Instead, it will take, and it can seem to bear too heavy. If someone has a depressed or sad mood, which is intense and lingers most of the day, nearly every day for 2 weeks or more, may, it is a sign that the person be major depression developed. Major depression, sometimes called clinical depression, is also a temporary depressed mood – it is the concept of mental health professionals use for depression, the need has become a disease in treatment. Another form of severe depression is a bipolar disorder, the extremely low mood (major depression) as well as extremely high moods (these are called manic episodes) containing known.
Although children can experience depression, adolescents are also more vulnerable to major depression and bipolar disorder. Hormones and sleep cycles, which both change dramatically during adolescence have an effect on mood and may partly explain why young people (especially girls) are particularly vulnerable to depression. Believe it or not, had as many as 20% of young people that this is severe depression at some point. The good news is that depression is treatable – most teenagers better with the right help.
It is not difficult to see why serious depression and suicide are connected. Severe depression (major depression and bipolar disorder with the two) there is a long-lasting sad mood that does not loose, and a loss of pleasure in things you once enjoyed. It’s also about thinking about death, negative thoughts about themselves, a feeling of worthlessness, a sense of hopelessness that the better, low energy and a noticeable change in appetite or sleep.
Depression distorts a person perspective, allowing them to concentrate on their failures and disappointments, and to exaggerate the negative press. Depressive thoughts can convince someone there is nothing to live. the loss of pleasure is the part of the depression as a further proof that there is nothing good seems to be about the present. The hopelessness of it can seem like there is nothing good in the future be, helplessness, it can seem like there’s nothing you can do to change the things for the better. And the low energy part of the depression can make any problem (even small ones) seem like too much handle.
In severe depression lifts because a person gets the right therapy or treatment, this distorted thinking is free and may desire to find energy and hope. But if anyone seriously depressed, suicidal thoughts is a real problem. If young people can be depressed, they are often not aware that the hopelessness they feel relieved and that pain and despair can be healed.
What Else Puts Teens at Risk for Suicide?
In addition to depression, there are other emotional states that young people can get a higher risk for suicide – such as girls and boys with behavioral problems are at higher risk. This may be partly because young people can be problems with aggression and behavioral problems rather than other teens to act in aggressive or impulsive way to hurt themselves when they are depressed or under great stress. The fact that many young people with behavior disorders also have depression may partly explain this. After both major depression and behavior problems increased the risk of a teen suicide.
Addiction problems are also young people at risk for suicidal thinking and behavior. Alcohol and some drugs have depressive effects on the brain. Abuse of these substances can bring on severe depression, especially among young people prone to depression because of their biology, family history, or other life stressors.
In addition to change depressive effects alcohol and drugs, the discernment of a man. They interfere with the ability to assess risk, make good decisions, and think of solutions to problems. Many suicide attempts occur when a teenager is under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Teens with drug problems often have severe depression or intense stresses of life, continue to increase the risk.
Life Stress and Suicidal Behavior
Let’s face it – being a teenager is not easy for everyone. There are many new social, academic and personal stress. And for young people who have additional issues to fight, life can feel even more difficult. Some young people were abused physically or sexually witnessed a parent abusing a home or live with a lot of strife and conflict at home. Other witnesses of violence in their neighborhood. Many young people have parents who divorce, and may have other parent with a drug or alcohol addiction.
Some young people are struggling with concerns about sexuality and relationships, wondering if their feelings and attractions are normal, if they are loved and accepted, or if their changing bodies are normally developed. Others struggle with body image and eating disorders, find it impossible to achieve a perfect ideal, and therefore have problems feeling good about themselves. Some teens have learning problems or attention problems that make it difficult for them to succeed in school. You may feel disappointed in themselves or they are a disappointment to others.
All these things can affect mood and feeling in some people turn to alcohol or drugs or depressed for a false sense of soothing. Without the necessary coping skills or support, these social stresses may increase the risk of major depression and thus increase of suicidal thoughts and behavior. Teens who have recently had a loss or a crisis, or had a family member who may have committed suicide especially vulnerable to suicidal thinking and behavior.
Guns and Suicide Risk
Finally, the access to guns is extremely risky for any teenager who has one of the other risk factors. Depression, anger, impulsivity, life stress, drug abuse, feelings of alienation and loneliness – all factors that can a teenager at high risk for suicidal thoughts and behavior instead. Availability of weapons together with one or more of these risk factors is a deadly equation. Many teens could live by making sure those who are at risk without access to weapons are stored.
Different types of Suicidal Behaviors
Teen girl tries suicide far more frequently (about nine times more often) than teenage boys, but boys are about four times more likely to succeed if they try to kill themselves. This is because young guys to more lethal methods, such guns or hanging applications tend. Girl, to hurt or kill themselves rather than using doses of drugs or cutting. More than 60% of teenage suicide deaths happen with a gun. But suicide deaths can not with pills and other harmful substances and methods occur.
Sometimes a depressed person plans a suicide attack in advance. Often, however, suicide attempts are not planned in advance, but happen impulsively, in a moment of feeling desperately upset. Sometimes a situation such as a separation, a big fight with a parent of an unwanted pregnancy, damaged by abuse or rape, outed by someone else, or in any way a teenage victim may feel desperately upset. In situations like this, teens may fear humiliation, rejection, social isolation or a terrible consequence, they think they can not handle it. When a terrible situation feels too overwhelming, a teenager feel that there is no way out of bad feeling or the consequences of the situation. Suicide attempts may be subject to conditions, as is the case, as in despair, some young people – see no other way out and they act impulsively against themselves.
– at least for the moment
Sometimes teens feel or act mean suicidal to die and sometimes they do not. Sometimes a suicide attempt is a way to the deep emotional pain she hoping to have the feeling of saying that anyone the message they are trying to get communicate.
do even if a teenager can be a suicide attempt does not really make or die, it is impossible to know whether an overdose or other adverse action is taken, it can actually lead to death or was a serious and persistent illness, which never intended . to obtain with a suicide attempt at someone’s attention or love, or to hurt someone they have caused is never punish a good idea. People usually do not really the message and it often backfires on the teen. It is better to get in another way, what you need and deserve to learn from people. There are always people who add value, respect and love you – take, sometimes it’s time to find them – but it’s important to value, respect and love yourself too.
Unfortunately, young people tend to attempt suicide in response to problems in order to try more than once. Although some depressed teens may first attempt suicide around age 13 or 14, attempts suicide highest in middle adolescence. Then about 17 or 18 years, the rate of teen suicide attempts lowers dramatically. This may be because, with a maturity, young people have learned to tolerate sad or angry moods, have learned how they need and deserve, and have developed better coping strategies to deal with disappointment or other difficulties.
Depto. Ciencias Forenses, Cat. de Medicina Legal
Facultad de Medicina, U.B.A.
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