Suicide :: essays research papers

Suicide is intentional self-inflicted acts that end in death("Suicide," Compton's). After a series of traumatic events, normal coping abilities can be pushed over the edge; the result may be suicide. In each year, an average of 30,000 suicide deaths occur in the United States. It is estimated that 5,000 of those suicides are committed by teenagers(SAVE, 2). One major reason that the suicide rate among teenagers is so high, is that the teenage years are a period of commotion. New social roles are being learned, new relationships are being developed, bodily changes are occurring, and decisions about the future are being made during the teenage years. Teenagers tend to commit suicide after large changes, significant losses, or abuse has occurred in their lives. An important change in a relationship, school or body image may contribute to a teenagers' tendency to commit suicide. The death of a loved one, the loss of a valued relationship, and the loss of self esteem are some significant losses which might be a factor in teen suicide("The Real World [Suicide: Facts]," 1). Perceived abuse such as physical, emotional, psychological, sexual, social abuse or neglect can lead to self-murder("Teen Suicide," 3). Significant changes, losses, and abuse can promote suicidal tendencies. Few suicidal people have some type of depression, yet those who have one can be provoked to commit suicide. There are two main types of depression suffered by (, 2) suicidal people("Suicide," {Grolier}). The first type is reactive depression. This type of depression is the reaction of a difficult and often traumatic experience. Endogenous depression is the second type of depression. It is the result of a mental illness which is diagnosable by a professional. Some suicidal people have a combination of both reactive depression and endogenous depression. Others could have a depression which is undiagnosed. A persistent sad mood, thoughts of suicide, persistent physical pains that do not respond to treatment, difficulty concentrating, irritability and fatigue are some symptoms of depression(American Psychiatric Association, 4). If a person has four or more of the symptoms lasting for more than two weeks, that person could have a type of depression. Those people with mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and clinical depression have much higher suicide rates than average(Tom Arsenault, 2). Teenagers display warning signs of suicide. The indications come in two ways. First exhibited are the early warning signs. These signs include difficulties in school, depression, drug abuse, sleep and eating disturbances, and a loss of interest in activities. Restlessness, feelings of failure, overreaction to criticism, overly self-critical, anger, and a preoccupation with death or Satan are also some signals teenagers contemplating suicide will give("Teen Suicide," (, 3) 3). The other type of clues are late warning signs.