Inquiry Blog Post #3

Inquiry Question: Why Are Suicidal Rates Higher for Teenagers

My first research for this inquiry question is about the traits of someone that has suicidal thoughts or is feeling suicidal. So, please make sure that you are comfortable with this topic when reading this blog post and if you are not comfortable please do not keep reading.

TW: SUICIDE TALK

Before I begin talking about my research for this blog post I want to ask a question to those that are reading this post. What do you think could lead someone to think about suicide? There are three types of factors there is a relationship, individual, and societal. Please let me know in the comments before reading on as I will talk about them.

Those that consider suicide have three factors that could bring out these thoughts. There are individual, relationship, and societal.

Individual Factors:

• Has mental health conditions: depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia (2,3)
• Alcohol and substance abuse problems (2,3)
• Easy access to self-harm (2)
• Feels hopeless and loneliness (2)
• Suffers from a traumatic brain injury (3)

Relationship Factors:

• Physical, emotional, or sexual abuse (2,3)
• Divorce, death, and break-ups (2,3)
• Family history of death from suicide (2,3)
• No support from any one (2)

Societal Factors:

• Scared to ask for help (2)
• No access to healthcare services (2)
• The cultural or religious beliefs that would solve their problems (2)

Traits of a Suicidal Person:

• Sad and mood swings aka depression (2)
• Very calm after being depressed or moody (2)
• Avoids any type of social activities in which they choose to be alone (2,3,4)
• Changes their personality, appearance, and sleep pattern (2,3,4)
  • Their speaking move either slowly or very fast suddenly
  • Their behaviour changes
  • Does not care about their appearance as much
  • Either sleep a lot or very little
• Shows self-harming behaviour (2,4)
  • Recklessly driving
  • Having unsafe sex
  • Taking an excessive number of substances or alcohol
• Showing deep despair (2,3,4)
  • Talking about how they have no reason to live
  • Feels like they are a burden to others
• Experienced a recent trauma or crisis (2,4)
  • Death of a loved one
  • Divorce
  • Got diagnosed with a major illness
  • Lost a job
  • Has financial problem
• Making preparations for their death (2,3,4)
  • Selling their possessions
  • Visiting family and friends
  • Researching ways to die
  • Writing a note before attempting suicide
• Has lethal means (3,4)
  • The suicidal person would tell you that they bought a gun
  • Could stockpile pills
• Has physical pain (3)
  • Has some type of physical pain or discomfort
    • Overlooked as symptoms of depression
    • Complains about headaches, digestive problems

PREVENTING AND HELPING SUICIDAL PEOPLE AND YOURSELF:

There are multiple ways to help prevent suicide for yourself and others. It is best to learn about the risk factors for suicide, to learn the signs of depression and other mental health conditions, recognize the warning signs in yourself or others around you, show support, and ask the person if they considered hurting themselves. Ways to prevent yourself from taking any type of action is to know that others around you could get into the same state as you if you do pass away. The first step is to promise that you will not do anything to yourself. Your suicidal thoughts do not have to become a reality for you. There is never a deadline for when you should pass away and no one is forcing you to do so. Put some distance from your thoughts and actions. The second step is to avoid any type of substance and alcohol. You would abuse yourself as you are feeling hopeless and are thinking about suicide. The third step is to make your homes safe such as removing items that you could use to harm yourself like knives, pills, razors, or firearms. If you are not able to remove these items, it is suggested for you go to a place where you can feel safe. If you are prescribed to take medicine, it is suggested that you find someone to hold it for you and give it to you when you need to take those pills. The fourth step is to not keep your suicidal feelings to yourself. Many people have their coping mechanism to share their thoughts with others that they trust. It is suggested to find someone that is experienced such as a helpline, a doctor, a family member, a friend, a therapist, etc. The last step is to have hope that you can get through it. Many can survive those feelings and so can you. If you put in hope with time and effort there is a good chance that you will be able to make it through those thoughts and feelings. Give yourself time and do not go through it alone which would make it harder for yourself. (5)

How parents can help their child go through these feelings and thoughts is to show love. Show them that you love them for who they are to let them know that there are people who love them. To understand that they should validate their child’s feelings. Instead of saying that they should just suck it up instead, they should tell them “It must have been difficult for you”. To show positivity to help prevent the suicidal behaviour to get worst. To not have a conflict with their child. Even if their child is rebelling it is their way of coping with those thoughts, so they do not think about it. Help them participate in therapy. With professional help, it could either help them get better as can talk to someone that would not say anything about their thoughts and feelings. Another thought for parents to think about is to not talk about what they have been through it. Everyone has been through it but the problems that led to those thoughts are different for everyone. Parents should also not start to talk about themselves when talking to their children about their thoughts and feelings. They should listen to their child and help them understand them as they are going through something very hard to handle. With the help of their parent’s understanding and listening skills, they can speak out more and trust their parents even more for advice and on what they should do with this problem. (1)

These are some helplines that can help you and others that you think may have these traits.

In Canada: Call Crisis Services Canada at 1-833-456-4566

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255

 SITES:

• Child Mind Institute, C. M. I. (2021, August 16). What to do if you’re worried about suicide. Child Mind Institute. Retrieved March 29, 2022, from https://childmind.org/article/youre-worried-suicide/
• Cleveland Clinic, C. C. (2021, June 18). Recognizing suicide behaviour: Risk factors, warning signs, what to do. Cleveland Clinic. Retrieved March 29, 2022, from https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/11352-recognizing-suicidal-behavior
• Ellis, M. E. (2019, September 10). 5 warning signs of suicidal behavior that are easy to miss. Bridges to Recovery. Retrieved March 29, 2022, from https://www.bridgestorecovery.com/blog/5-warning-signs-of-suicidal-behavior-that-are-easy-to-miss/
• Mayo Clinic, M. C. (2018, January 31). Suicide: What to do when someone is suicidal. Mayo Clinic. Retrieved March 29, 2022, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/suicide/in-depth/suicide/art-20044707
• Robinson, L. (2022, March 16). Are you feeling suicidal?org. Retrieved March 29, 2022, from https://www.helpguide.org/articles/suicide-prevention/are-you-feeling-suicidal.htm