The most difficult time in everyone's life is adolescence. In this age period, the formation of the personality, the rethinking of value orientations takes place. In addition, there are changes in the hormonal background due to active sexual development. Hormonal imbalance is the cause of frequent mood swings, attacks of aggression or depression. Therefore, teenage suicide is so common, the reasons for which can be very diverse.
Which teenagers are prone to suicide
Suicide, or suicide, is the deliberate, intentional deprivation of one's own life. For certain life circumstances, some teenagers are at risk for suicide. The causes of suicide in adolescence can be very diverse. Some young people are prone to constant depressive states, others abuse alcohol, others have narcotic and toxic addictions. Many faced the death or suicide of a loved one, had bad relationships with peers and parents. That is why teenage suicide occurs. Reasons andthe factors that provoke it lie in the psychological state of children.
Suicidal Syndrome
Teenagers at risk can harm and take their own lives at any time under the pressure of circumstances. These people are very impressionable, vulnerable, they have a sense of inferiority and low self-esteem. At the age of 13-17, there is a milestone when suicide is common among teenagers. The reasons for this phenomenon are being studied by many psychologists.
Several decades ago, the world community was shocked by the suicides committed by Marilyn Monroe and Ernest Hemingway. There were intrigues and gossip around these events. The world also learned about the mass suicide of sectarians from the Davydov Branch society in 1993. At least 160,000 people worldwide commit suicide every year. Teenage suicide was no exception, the psychological characteristics and causes of which are being studied to this day.
Most often, suicidal tendencies appear due to textbook problems in the life of young people: stress, depression, emotional instability, misperception of life. Experts point out that teenage suicides are associated with depression, which affects more than 80% of young people. But suicide of teenage children also happens, the causes of which lie in alcohol and drug addiction, severe mental disorder, imitation.
Categories of suicidal people
Professor Shneidman brought out 4 main categories of people,who seek to commit suicide on their own:
- The death seeker, in an attempt to harm himself, is trying in every possible way to bring the matter to a lethal end. But such zeal does not last long. Then doubts begin to torment the person, he tries to rethink everything, but thoughts of suicide do not leave him.
- The initiator of death - also wants to die. He is sure that a terrible fate will befall him, and is only trying to speed up the process. Such a manic feeling occurs more often in older people, but teenagers also commit suicide. The reasons for this phenomenon lie in the subconscious.
- Death denier doesn't believe death is the end. He naively believes that taking his own life is an exchange transaction in which the current situation is replaced by something new and happy. These are the main reasons for suicide among teenagers who believe in an afterlife.
- Player with death. He is tormented by contradictions regarding the possibility of dying one way or another. Even during suicide, a person is tormented by doubts. The methods chosen for death may not allow to bring the matter to the end, but only cause harm to he alth. An example is the game "Russian roulette" with a revolver, the rules of which are that there is only one cartridge in the drum, which will either fire or not.
Suicide and its forms
There are three main forms of suicide.
- True - when a teenager is sure that he wants his own death. This form of suicide is typical of young men. A failed attempt results in a retry.
- Sensitive- when a young man or girl tries to commit suicide under the influence of emotions. If suicide does not work out, then, as a rule, it does not happen again. Girls are most susceptible to this.
- Demonstrative - serves only as a means of attracting public attention. Attempts can be repeated again and again and it never comes to suicide itself (except by chance).
Reasons for teen suicide
The causes of suicide in teenagers often lie in rejected love, domestic scandals, misunderstandings from peers, or simply loneliness.
Besides, modern media in every possible way provoke young people to take such a desperate step by showing cases of suicide of strangers, stars. The World Wide Web is no exception, showing online recordings of this topic and projects.
The suicide of teenagers has its own distinctive features. The reasons are that children often do not believe in their own death. For example, only 10% out of 100 really want to commit suicide, the rest are only trying to attract the attention of relatives, friends, loved ones. In this case, there is a demonstrative form of suicide, or, one might say, "suicidal blackmail". But, unfortunately, such a game with death can lead to death even by accident.
Pre-suicidal behavior
True suicidal tendencies mature inside young people and may not give themselves away. If you pay attention, you can see smallchanges in the behavior of a teenager contemplating suicide. They are hardly noticeable, especially if the boy or girl is prone to loneliness. You can determine suicidal behavior by the isolation of a teenager, by randomly escaped phrases. If a child does not want to discuss such a topic, then this should serve as a signal to parents.
With affective and demonstrative forms of suicide, teenagers try to draw the attention of others to their problem. Boys and girls subconsciously inspire others that they want outside interference. They hope to be stopped.
Internal readiness for suicide can cause loss of appetite: a teenager does not eat anything, even despite his previously good appetite. The same thing happens with sleep: an active child is tormented by weakness, and a lethargic one, on the contrary, loses sleep.
In addition, school performance is creeping down, teachers often complain of inattention. In this case, if the teacher notices problems, then he calls the parents to the parent meeting. Teenage suicide, causes and prevention of this phenomenon are often discussed together with parents and a psychologist.
Can adolescent suicide be prevented?
It is necessary, first of all, to know all the experiences and feelings of the child. Do not let any changes in the behavior of the child take their course. It is necessary to call him to frankness. Every child needs compassion and support from loved ones.
Life's obstacles are those cases that a child must overcome together with their parents. Teenagersmust understand that others and their parents love them for who they are, understand and support them.
Myths about suicide
If we talk about suicide from the point of view of psychology, then it is worth noting certain myths or misconceptions regarding this phenomenon.
- It is impossible to prevent suicide, but in a crisis period of life you can give a person warmth, care, attention, and then, perhaps, the thought of suicide will disappear.
- There is a certain type of person who is naturally suicidal. Here we can talk not only about the situation, but also about its assessment by a person.
- There are no definite signs indicating the reasons for the suicide. Usually a suicide is recognized due to the non-standard behavior of a teenager.
- A teenager may mention suicide, but adults often take it as a joke. As a result, it later becomes clear that the child himself pointed out the possible consequences.
- Suicidal decisions come suddenly, without preparation. Studies have shown that the crisis period associated with a potential suicide can last from 2 weeks to several months.
- A failed suicide will not happen again. This is the biggest misconception. If a teenager decides to take such a desperate step, then the risk of resuming the attempt is high. Perhaps a repeat should be expected in the next 2 months.
- Inherited suicidal drive. No one has ever proven this claim.
- The suicide rate will drop significantly due to the influence of the media and the Internet. But the media should not advertise the factsuicide, but situations through which it can be prevented.
- Alcohol is a tool that helps to drown out inner feelings. It has been proven that the effect of alcohol can be reversed: conflicts aggravate, anxiety increases. More than half of suicides occurred while intoxicated.
Characteristic features of pre-suicidal actions
You can characterize the pre-suicidal state of a teenager by the following features:
- There are sharp mood swings in the child: he begins to conflict with friends and family.
- Teens tend to over-dramatize conflicts.
- Suicide, from the point of view of a child, is something decisive and fearless.
- Behavior is demonstrative, something like "playing in public".
- The behavior of a teenager is an affect, that is, his actions are not thought out and inaccurate.
- Unskillful choice of means for suicide: a low floor for a jump, non-toxic substances for poisoning, or a thin rope.
Psychological background
Experts have recently begun to study the causes of suicide in adolescents. Psychology is the science that helps to understand all aspects of this issue. What is clear is that most of the suicides teenagers commit while in their right mind. But many believe that only a mentally handicapped child is capable of such a desperate step. Alas, it is not.
It's all about the reasons, because teenagers who are in puberty are sure that they are not loved, notunderstood and not appreciated. These personal experiences lead to the fact of suicide.
At the age of 13-16, it is difficult for boys and girls to cope with the "wagon" of adult problems. Next to the child should be parents and relatives who are able to direct him on the true path.
Long depression
Prolonged depression is a problem for most teenagers today. In this case, we are talking about a severe form of mental disorder. Here you can add drug, alcohol and toxic addictions, which require considerable financial expenses.
There are often cases when a child, without the knowledge of the parents, takes valuables, jewelry and equipment out of the house in order to earn money for the next dose. When the fact of the theft comes up, the teenager decides to commit suicide in order to avoid responsibility for what he did.
Should you talk to your child about suicide?
Should you talk about suicide with your child? No, it's not worth it. Because conversations on such topics arouse interest in the child, because, as you know, everything forbidden becomes desirable.
If we talk about this topic, then the whole point should converge to the wrongness and immorality of such an act. For example, you might mention that there is so much to see ahead and these kids won't see everything that's about to happen.
How to warn a child. Proper Prevention
Is it possible to avoid such a terrible ending as teenage suicide? Reasons affecting the possibility of suicide will become apparent ifpay close attention to such points:
- Telephone conversations and just talking with friends. If a child has ever touched on the topic of suicide, then perhaps you should pay attention to it.
- Silence, constant loneliness and unwillingness to communicate.
- Literature read by a child. Books need special attention. If your child doesn't read books, they may be watching videos online.
- Music compositions and films.
It is advisable to track the sites visited by a teenager. Now more and more projects are being released that negatively affect the human psyche, and even more so for children and adolescents.
Unobtrusiveness, coupled with control, a normal relationship and communication between the child and parents will help your child cope with a critical age crisis without any negative consequences. Communicate more, then you will learn to recognize the wrong behavior of the child and find out its causes. And the prevention of teenage suicide lies precisely in the attention and care for children.
