Preventing Youth Suicide
The statistics in suicide deaths within our youth is quite alarming. Everyday in the U.S.A., there is an average of over 5,240 suicide attempts by young people in the seventh through twelfth grades, thats ages twelve through eighteen. Death by suicide is the second leading cause of death for ages ten through twenty-four. More teenagers and young adults die from suicide than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, pneumonia, influenza, and chronic lung disease COMBINED. Studies show that ninety percent of teens who kill themselves have shown some type of mental health issues, such as depression, anxiety, drug or alcohol abuse, or a behavior problem.(jasonfoundation.com) My husband would …show more content…
This depression generally lifts during spring and summer. Winter depression, typically accompanied by social withdrawal, increased sleep, and weight gain, predictably returns every year in seasonal affective disorder. Bipolar disorder is different from depression, but it is included in this list is because someone with bipolar disorder experiences episodes of extremely low moods that meet the criteria for major depression (called “bipolar depression”). But a person with bipolar disorder also experiences extreme high – euphoric or irritable – moods called “mania” or a less severe form called “hypomania.” The teenage suicide clusters that were occurring in Palo Alto was so worrying that the Santa Clara County Health Department requested that the Center For Disease Control and Prevention investigate Palo Alto’s teen suicides on behalf of the Pal Alto School District. Whilst the CDC’s findings are preliminary, they have found that high school students who considered suicide were found to have many traits in common; they were more likely to have missed school in the last month, experienced bullying , used alcohol or drugs in the past, recently engaged in binge drinking , or have identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT).
The statistics in suicide deaths within our youth is quite alarming. Everyday in the U.S.A., there is an average of over 5,240 suicide attempts by young people in the seventh through twelfth grades, thats ages twelve through eighteen. Death by suicide is the second leading cause of death for ages ten through twenty-four. More teenagers and young adults die from suicide than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, pneumonia, influenza, and chronic lung disease COMBINED. Studies show that ninety percent of teens who kill themselves have shown some type of mental health issues, such as depression, anxiety, drug or alcohol abuse, or a behavior problem.(jasonfoundation.com) My husband would …show more content…
This depression generally lifts during spring and summer. Winter depression, typically accompanied by social withdrawal, increased sleep, and weight gain, predictably returns every year in seasonal affective disorder. Bipolar disorder is different from depression, but it is included in this list is because someone with bipolar disorder experiences episodes of extremely low moods that meet the criteria for major depression (called “bipolar depression”). But a person with bipolar disorder also experiences extreme high – euphoric or irritable – moods called “mania” or a less severe form called “hypomania.” The teenage suicide clusters that were occurring in Palo Alto was so worrying that the Santa Clara County Health Department requested that the Center For Disease Control and Prevention investigate Palo Alto’s teen suicides on behalf of the Pal Alto School District. Whilst the CDC’s findings are preliminary, they have found that high school students who considered suicide were found to have many traits in common; they were more likely to have missed school in the last month, experienced bullying , used alcohol or drugs in the past, recently engaged in binge drinking , or have identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT).