U.S. and Teenage Suicide
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, suicide is “The action of killing oneself intentionally.” The World Health Organization states that suicide is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, and one of the three leading causes of death in young adults under the age of 25. These are facts that should worry the population of the US, especially the parents of teenagers throughout the country.
The process of being a teenager can be very overwhelming and, if teens are not properly guided through this difficult stage, it can become a major problem. Teenagers are dealing with the process of discovering themselves and experimenting new things; during this process, several things can make a teenager think about attempting suicide: Social pressure, alcohol and drug abuse, depression, having a sense of no belonging anywhere, and anxiety are a couple of examples.
When someone thinks about attempting suicide they don’t really want to die. What happens is that they can’t find another solution to stop the suffering or the despair they are feeling. Not everybody that thinks about attempting suicide ends up doing it; statistics show that, from 8 to 25 suicide attempts, only 1 is completed.
But how can society help reduce the risks of suicide in young adults? Education is the key. In order to reduce suicide attempts in young adults, high schools must start an awareness and prevention campaign where both –teenagers and parents– learn about causes and consequences of suicide and how to prevent it from happening.
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