Two teens commit suicide within weeks at one high school. A community is in shock when they should be celebrating. How can this be? Is it the stress at the end of the school year that would cause one to take their life? Mental illness among teens has such a negative stigma and suicide may be the third leading cause of death. Mental illness in teens could be genetic or it could be short term and is not partial to any economic class. Mental illness is treatable like any other illness, a broken bone, a headache but there is so much shame and loneliness.
Warning signs, we have all heard them, but teens do a great job of hiding them. A survey of U.S. high school students found that one in twelve, almost 10%, had attempted suicide within the year. How can you prevent a disease among an age group when you don’t know it is there? Our beautiful teens are dying so let’s quit pointing fingers and work together toward prevention.
Fisher: Teen suicide needs attention – San Jose Mercury News.
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Here I am commenting on my own blog post. But tonight when I was reading the newspaper (yes the newspaper) there was a devastating continuation to this story that i wanted to share and not that I am into hard luck stories but one thing they mention is that “teen suicides can occur in clusters, with people who are already feeling low are more inclined once they see it done.” Read on to learn why this may be true:
PASSER-BY, MOM HALT SUICIDE ATTEMPT BY SCHOOL’S 3RD STUDENT
“A passing motorist helped the mother of a Palo Alto high school student keep the boy from committing suicide on the Caltrain tracks at the SAME CROSSING where two fellow students killed themselves in the past month.
The 17yr. old boy, a student at Gunn High School apparently walked to the East Meadow Drive crossing at about 7:45 pm Thursday and was contemplating suicide when his mother came on the scene… the story continues …
The boy’s apparent attempted suicide happened as community leaders, teachers and parents were attending a forum the SAME night in the the wake of two other 17 yr. old students.
The article continues with information on the 2 other suicides in the same area.
I will never forget one of the parents in a teen family support group I was in commenting that “they all wear the same brain”. (Definition teens do not think for themselves and are in the copycat mode).