Suicide - Teens
- Nov 1, 2006 - 2
Evangelist Jerry Johnston spends a lot of time talking to teenagers in high school assemblies about suicide. He says, “There are several ways in which teenagers are broken, and each one indicates a need for caution and concern. Experts refer to the trigger mechanism, some negative experience that is the final impetus to commit suicide. The trigger mechanism is a severe disappointment that finally pushes a teenager to the decision for suicide.”
Johnston lists 5 areas of brokenness that can cause a teenage suicide:
- Broken dreams. Teenagers, who are probably the most idealistic people on earth, expect friendships and romances to last forever. They expect that everything will be great. When those relationships fall apart, the teen can be devastated.
- Broken romances. Too many teenagers feel that when a romantic relationship ends, their opportunity for a fulfilled life ends as well. A sense of hopelessness sets in. Suicide may be a way to strike back at the one who ended the relationship.
- Broken ideals. The most common broken ideal among teens is the loss of virginity. They feel the ache inside of having given up something forever that was very precious.
- Broken expectations. The unfaithfulness of a friend, the loss of something that was greatly desired, and when carefully laid plans fail, there is a deep sense of hurt that can lead to suicidal thoughts.
- Broken hearts. The death of someone very close, whether by suicide, accident, or natural causes may trigger thoughts of suicide.
Adapted from Jerry Johnston, Why Suicide? (Nashville: Oliver Nelson, 1987), 114-119.
“A preoccupation with death is indicative of several mental health conditions—depression, bipolar disorder, and others—and may be a warning sign of suicide, particularly among emotionally vulnerable teenagers. Aggregated data from two recent Gallup Youth Surveys allow a closer look at how often teens think about dying.
“The data show that just 9% of teens often think about their own deaths, while the majority of them think about it sporadically or not at all. But according to U.S. Census estimates, there are about 21 million teens (aged 13 to 17) living in the United States today, so 9% represents quite a large number of teens who have frequent thoughts about dying … There is virtually no difference between boys and girls, whites and nonwhites, or younger and older teens when it comes to thoughts about death. However, there are strong relationships between these thoughts and Gallup questions on social alienation.
“Thirty-five percent of teens choose the statement ‘I often wonder why I exist’ over the statement ‘I always see a reason for my being here on Earth’ to best describe how they feel. Within that group, more than one in five (22%) say they ‘often’ or ‘almost always’ think about their own death—compared with just 4% of those who choose the alternate statement. Similarly, 25% of teens choose the statement ‘I wish I were somebody else’ over the statement ‘I would choose my life the way it is right now.’ Within that group, 21% say they ‘often’ or ‘almost always’ think about their own death, versus 7% of those who choose the more positive statement.”
Excerpted from Linda Lyons, One in 10 Teens Thinks Often about Own Death, (Gallup Poll), June 29, 2004 [Subscription required for access]
Warning signs in teens:
- Withdrawal—the teen pulls away.
- Moodiness—the teen who’s up and down.
- Depression—the teen who holds in.
- Aggression—the teen who lashes out.
- Alcohol and drug abuse—the teen who turns on.
- Sexual activity—the teen who lets go.
- Eating disorders—the teen who punishes self.
- Gift giving—the teen who gives up and gives away.
- Trauma—the teen who’s been hit hard.
- Personality change—the teen who’s not the same.
- Threat—the teen who speaks out.
Jerry Johnston, Why Suicide? (Nashville: Oliver Nelson, 1987), 140-144.
- “As reported in SAMHSA’s 2004 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an estimated 14% of youths aged 12 to 17, approximately 3.5 million youths, had experienced at least one major depressive episode in their lifetime.
- Over 7%, an estimated 1.8 million youths, had lifetime major depressive episode and thought about killing themselves at the time of their worst or most recent episode.
- An estimated 712,000 youths had tried to kill themselves during their worst or most recent major depressive episode; this represents 2.9% of those aged 12 to 17.”
Suicidal Thoughts among Youths Aged 12 to 17 with Major Depressive Episode, (National Survey on Drug Use and Health), September 9, 2005
“Suicidal compulsion does not happen out of the blue. It builds through a long process fraught with despairing, negative thoughts. There is, without question, a predisposition toward suicide before the act occurs. Generally, it begins with the idea that life is just not going to get any better. Then, with that fatalistic lie boiling in the mind like a witch’s brew, the depressed person thinks: I am helpless to change my circumstances. The only thing to do is give up. This sense of utter helplessness then produces an abject hopelessness, which is even worse. In that state, there is the potential for serious, suicidal thoughts.
“The thought strikes suddenly, and it appears so logical: Why not kill myself? Once the idea enters the brain, the predisposed person can become obsessed with it, dwelling on it for days, weeks, even months. Some suicidal people tell others what they are thinking or at least give hints. The majority say nothing, though they may express other signs. When the thinking begins to focus on the actual time and method of death, the predisposition is about to bear its bitter fruit. If not prevented, the person will go through with the plans.”
Jerry Johnston, Why Suicide? (Nashville: Oliver Nelson, 1987), 127-128.
“One of the few attempts Hollywood has made to film a serious, thoughtful look at teenage suicide was the 1980 movie Ordinary People, based on the 1976 novel of the same name by Judith Guest. The book and movie examined the struggles of the Jarrett family, torn by the accidental death of one son and the attempted suicide of another. The movie garnered many Academy Awards, including the Oscar for Best Picture; Timothy Hutton, who played 17-year-old Conrad Jarrett, the suicidal son, won the Oscar as Best Supporting Actor.
“Ordinary People brought national attention to the issue of teenage suicide. The only problem with the book and movie, though, is that they make some people think teenage suicide is a problem strictly for the white middle class. The fictional Jarretts are an otherwise successful white family living in a comfortable suburb of Chicago; Calvin, the father, is a tax attorney.
“The truth is teenage suicide cuts across economic as well as racial lines. Indeed, more and more young blacks, Hispanics, and members of other minority groups are resorting to suicide. Ironically, one factor believed to be responsible for the rise in the teenage suicide rate among minorities is the ability of their parents to join the middle class. According to the Centers for Disease Control, in 1980 the suicide rate among young whites was 157 percent higher than young blacks. In 1998, the CDC reported that while the suicide rate for whites was still higher, it was then just 47 percent higher. ‘The whole mythology that blacks don’t kill themselves needs to be shattered,’ said psychiatrist Carl Bell … The Centers for Disease Control found that the suicide rate among blacks between the ages of 10 and 14 increased by a whopping 233 percent between 1980 and 1995. During that same period, the suicide rate among black teenagers between 15 and 19 increased by 126 percent. In that same period, the suicide rate for young whites between 10 and 14 increased by 120 percent, while the rate for older white teenagers increased by 19 percent.”
Hal Marcovitz, Teens & Suicide (Broomall, PA: Mason Crest Publishers, 2004), 87-89.
2 comments (post your own) feed
1 On Apr 26th, 2007, at 7:51am, rhonsheika thomas wrote:
why do teens use vulgar language and what are they doing to prevent it. also why do they commit teen suicide.
2 On Jul 23rd, 2007, at 3:21pm, Greg Z wrote:
Major cause of teen suicide not mentioned, alienation of gay teens. Look at the suicide rate of gay teens from conservative christian families. Its a scary reality