In the mind of a vaguely overweight and plus-sized teenager, there lies a hole. The smallest hole like the one in a punctured car, small, but big enough to gradually start consuming her. Her eyes spot skinny and slim girls walking down the corridor, their eyes slowly and mercilessly examining and inspecting her body. She squeezes her stomach in, hoping it makes a difference but realizes that her baggy t-shirt cannot allow that. She doesn’t know what to do. One Mississippi, like an intuition, she lowers her gaze. Two Mississippi, her head follows. Three Mississippi, her body posture changes. Four Mississippi, she looks down and immediately she registers the fact that her self - esteem tags along.
Teenage depression is often perceived as bad moods or the occasional blues. But it is much more serious than that. Its a major issue that impacts every single aspect and element of a teenager’s life. It is not the hormone mayhem causing depression but not only feelings such as worthlessness with their peers or insufficiency over their grades which may cause depression but social status and body image also plays a big part in the picture too. According to Mayo Clinic, which is a medical practice and research group in the States, teenage depression is a serious medical problem which causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest in activities. It can cause emotional, functional and physical problems. “It isn’t just a weakness which could be overcome by willpower - it can have serious consequences and requires long-term treatment.” an unconfirmed source adds.
According to Kidshealth.org, 1 in 8 teens all over the world are victims of this appalling and desolate condition. 1 in 8 teens all over the world have are to suffer symptoms such as sadness, hopelessness, anxiety, agitation and thoughts of death and suicide. 1 in 8 teens all over the world have to constantly be having doubts about themselves. Why should these symptoms possibly and most probably change the teen’s life? Statistically speaking, 1 in 5 teens get help from a counsellor or any sort of adult. But what about the other 4 teens who are constantly struggling, everyday of their life? Do they just dwell into the depths of the disorder? What kind of help should they be receiving? Although major depression can last only 4 to 8 months, in those 120 days, 2880 minutes and 172,800 seconds, a lot can pass through this depressed teen’s mind. Suicide topping the lists.
The adversity of a teen suiciding because of hopelessness or frustration is truly devastating to the victim’s family, friends and even his or her community. The reasons behind the teen’s suicide or attempted suicide can be highly complex and intricate, as explained earlier. Although suicide is very rare among children, the rate of suicide highly increases during adolescence. According to kidshealth.org, suicide is the 3rd highest cause of death for 15-24 year olds. Every year, approximately 2 million people attempt suicide in the States and the most popular place in the United States to attempt suicide is the Golden Gate Bridge.
Although the Golden Gate Bridge might look like any other appealing and attracting bridge to a tourist’s eye, it has a darker, more deeper, upsetting and painful side to it. This bridge has a higher suicide rate than any other bridge in the United States. 46 confirmed victims have plunged into their death only last year and a total of 1600 confirmed people have taken their lives since 1937, which is approximately 78 years ago, because of the problems and issues they face in their lives. An average of 120 people every year jump off the Golden Gate Bridge, which is just dreadful and tragic. And out of all those 120 people, 98% of the jumpers regret their decision in the second after their jump, the second when they look down and realize what they have done to themselves.
As they head down 70 km/h towards the frigid and freezing water below them, remorsefulness and self-condemnation once again overwhelms them. The fact that 99% of the time, a jumper will die just increases the tremendous impact. In a nanosecond, the icy water turns into cold, hard cement as the victim’s body smashes its spine and causes an abundance of internal bleeding. The Angel of Death soon lifting his spirits up with a visible and heavy load of regret riding on the casualty's shoulders.
Since the authorities of the Golden Gate Bridge cannot allow their suicide numbers increasing year after year, which it is, as a matter of fact, they have allocated special Highway Patrol Officers, also known as the ‘Guardians of the Golden Gate Bridge’, who are constantly on the lookout for people of all ages who are possibly going to attempt suicide. An exemplary such guardian, Sgt. Kevin Briggs, has helped convince more than 200 people on the precipice of death not to take their lives. When he talks to the person, he tries to figure out what their problem is and if he can get him to break down and knock some sense into them. When interviewed, a special comment which stood out was “In 20 years of experience I have learnt that people don’t necessarily want to die, they just don’t know what to do”. Sgt. Briggs is often used as inspiration and why shouldn’t he inspire us, to educate us to face an issue such as this, to possibly save a person’s life? But how can we help a suicdée and force them into understanding that suicide is not the way to go?
Helpguide.org states that most people who commit suicide don’t want to die. They just want to stop hurting and they feel like death is the way to go. If you want to help prevent suicide, it starts by recognizing the warning signs and actually taking them seriously. Some key warning signs include talking about suicide, preoccupation with death, withdrawing from others or saying goodbye. If you believe that a person is suicidal, you can play a huge role in suicide prevention by pointing out alternatives, showing that you care about them and getting a counsellor or doctor involved.
Tip # 2: to offer help and support. Now, this might not seem as much, but it is considered the best way to help a suicidée. By offering a sensitive and a concerned listening ear, you are letting him know that he or she is not alone in this battle of life or death. You can modify their mindset into believing that no issue that you face is greater or even equivalent to their precious and valuable life.
Tip # 3: Get professional help. You may not always know how to respond to the talks with a suicidée, so don’t be reluctant to get professional help involved. Involving a psychologist or a psychiatrist can also remodel their way of thinking as they have experience and have been studying about the topic for a fair amount of time.
Tip # 4: Be proactive. Suicidées often don’t believe they can be helped, so, being more proactive by dropping by, calling again and again and inviting the person out instead of saying “call me if you need anything” can really, once again make them feel wanted and loved by someone which could highly change their fatal decision of suicide.
Tip # 5: Encourage positive lifestyle changes. This may be very difficult as usually, the suicidée might just not care about what he/she does anymore. But encouraging them to do treatments such as exercising, eating healthy, getting plenty of sleep and being out in the nature might as well change the perspective of the world for the suicidée and really help their recovery process.
It takes a lot to muster up courage to talk to a suicidée, so don’t be afraid to talk to your own family member or counsellor as thought of ending life can stir up difficult emotions which you just have to let out. You could also read books on Teenage Depression such as When Nothing matters Anymore by Bev Cobain or Conquering the Beast Within by Cait Irwin. Also, rejoice in the little victories you claim. A road to a healthy recovery may be bumpy, but with patience and love, what not could be solved?
Teenage depression is often perceived as bad moods or the occasional blues. But it is much more serious than that. Its a major issue that impacts every single aspect and element of a teenager’s life. It is not the hormone mayhem causing depression but not only feelings such as worthlessness with their peers or insufficiency over their grades which may cause depression but social status and body image also plays a big part in the picture too. According to Mayo Clinic, which is a medical practice and research group in the States, teenage depression is a serious medical problem which causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest in activities. It can cause emotional, functional and physical problems. “It isn’t just a weakness which could be overcome by willpower - it can have serious consequences and requires long-term treatment.” an unconfirmed source adds.
According to Kidshealth.org, 1 in 8 teens all over the world are victims of this appalling and desolate condition. 1 in 8 teens all over the world have are to suffer symptoms such as sadness, hopelessness, anxiety, agitation and thoughts of death and suicide. 1 in 8 teens all over the world have to constantly be having doubts about themselves. Why should these symptoms possibly and most probably change the teen’s life? Statistically speaking, 1 in 5 teens get help from a counsellor or any sort of adult. But what about the other 4 teens who are constantly struggling, everyday of their life? Do they just dwell into the depths of the disorder? What kind of help should they be receiving? Although major depression can last only 4 to 8 months, in those 120 days, 2880 minutes and 172,800 seconds, a lot can pass through this depressed teen’s mind. Suicide topping the lists.
The adversity of a teen suiciding because of hopelessness or frustration is truly devastating to the victim’s family, friends and even his or her community. The reasons behind the teen’s suicide or attempted suicide can be highly complex and intricate, as explained earlier. Although suicide is very rare among children, the rate of suicide highly increases during adolescence. According to kidshealth.org, suicide is the 3rd highest cause of death for 15-24 year olds. Every year, approximately 2 million people attempt suicide in the States and the most popular place in the United States to attempt suicide is the Golden Gate Bridge.
Although the Golden Gate Bridge might look like any other appealing and attracting bridge to a tourist’s eye, it has a darker, more deeper, upsetting and painful side to it. This bridge has a higher suicide rate than any other bridge in the United States. 46 confirmed victims have plunged into their death only last year and a total of 1600 confirmed people have taken their lives since 1937, which is approximately 78 years ago, because of the problems and issues they face in their lives. An average of 120 people every year jump off the Golden Gate Bridge, which is just dreadful and tragic. And out of all those 120 people, 98% of the jumpers regret their decision in the second after their jump, the second when they look down and realize what they have done to themselves.
As they head down 70 km/h towards the frigid and freezing water below them, remorsefulness and self-condemnation once again overwhelms them. The fact that 99% of the time, a jumper will die just increases the tremendous impact. In a nanosecond, the icy water turns into cold, hard cement as the victim’s body smashes its spine and causes an abundance of internal bleeding. The Angel of Death soon lifting his spirits up with a visible and heavy load of regret riding on the casualty's shoulders.
Since the authorities of the Golden Gate Bridge cannot allow their suicide numbers increasing year after year, which it is, as a matter of fact, they have allocated special Highway Patrol Officers, also known as the ‘Guardians of the Golden Gate Bridge’, who are constantly on the lookout for people of all ages who are possibly going to attempt suicide. An exemplary such guardian, Sgt. Kevin Briggs, has helped convince more than 200 people on the precipice of death not to take their lives. When he talks to the person, he tries to figure out what their problem is and if he can get him to break down and knock some sense into them. When interviewed, a special comment which stood out was “In 20 years of experience I have learnt that people don’t necessarily want to die, they just don’t know what to do”. Sgt. Briggs is often used as inspiration and why shouldn’t he inspire us, to educate us to face an issue such as this, to possibly save a person’s life? But how can we help a suicdée and force them into understanding that suicide is not the way to go?
Helpguide.org states that most people who commit suicide don’t want to die. They just want to stop hurting and they feel like death is the way to go. If you want to help prevent suicide, it starts by recognizing the warning signs and actually taking them seriously. Some key warning signs include talking about suicide, preoccupation with death, withdrawing from others or saying goodbye. If you believe that a person is suicidal, you can play a huge role in suicide prevention by pointing out alternatives, showing that you care about them and getting a counsellor or doctor involved.
Tip # 2: to offer help and support. Now, this might not seem as much, but it is considered the best way to help a suicidée. By offering a sensitive and a concerned listening ear, you are letting him know that he or she is not alone in this battle of life or death. You can modify their mindset into believing that no issue that you face is greater or even equivalent to their precious and valuable life.
Tip # 3: Get professional help. You may not always know how to respond to the talks with a suicidée, so don’t be reluctant to get professional help involved. Involving a psychologist or a psychiatrist can also remodel their way of thinking as they have experience and have been studying about the topic for a fair amount of time.
Tip # 4: Be proactive. Suicidées often don’t believe they can be helped, so, being more proactive by dropping by, calling again and again and inviting the person out instead of saying “call me if you need anything” can really, once again make them feel wanted and loved by someone which could highly change their fatal decision of suicide.
Tip # 5: Encourage positive lifestyle changes. This may be very difficult as usually, the suicidée might just not care about what he/she does anymore. But encouraging them to do treatments such as exercising, eating healthy, getting plenty of sleep and being out in the nature might as well change the perspective of the world for the suicidée and really help their recovery process.
It takes a lot to muster up courage to talk to a suicidée, so don’t be afraid to talk to your own family member or counsellor as thought of ending life can stir up difficult emotions which you just have to let out. You could also read books on Teenage Depression such as When Nothing matters Anymore by Bev Cobain or Conquering the Beast Within by Cait Irwin. Also, rejoice in the little victories you claim. A road to a healthy recovery may be bumpy, but with patience and love, what not could be solved?
First of all, this is a really hard topic to write about, lots of different issues, statistics, etc. so I think you really nailed it! You provoked many thoughts of mine and answered many questions too. I'm not an expert on this issue, so it's nice to get some background information to add to what I already know, although your piece did surprise me. It surprised me how many teens show symptoms and how many of them actually get help...Overall I learnt something from your piece, which was what I was hoping I'd get out reading yours, although no surprise there- your natural talent for writing really shined through in this piece.
ReplyDelete