Speaking of teenage suicides

ACCORDING to a recent newspaper story the suicide level among Sri Lankan teenagers are on the rising trend. The sociologists and health experts are now beginning to become concerned about this development and discussing ways and means of controlling this disastrous wave.

Naturally, such news items shake us, primarily because young lives are lost and family and friends suffer. We also become afraid. Is it contagious? Are there more of them teetering on the brink? If such is the case, is there anything we can do to prevent others from following and taking the same way out?

How do researchers interpret this phenomenon? The rising rate has been explained as a reaction to the stress inherent in adolescence compounded by increasing stress in the environment.

Adolescence is a time when ordinary levels of stress are heightened by physical, psychological, emotional, and social changes. Adolescents suffer a feeling of loss for the childhood they must leave behind, and undergo an difficult period of adjustment to their new adult identity.

Yet society alienates adolescents from their new identity by not allowing them the rights and responsibilities of adulthood. They are no longer children, but they are not accorded the adult privileges.

Our highly competitive society puts pressure on teens to succeed, often forcing them to set unrealistically high personal expectations.

There is increased pressure to continue studies, where success is narrowly defined and difficult to achieve. In a society which emphasizes immediate rewards, adolescents are not taught to be tolerant of frustration.

Some researchers also attribute teenage suicide to the weakening of the family unit. They argue that economic and political institutions have penetrated family unit, reducing it to a consumer unit no longer able to function as a support system, and no longer able to supply family members with a sense of stability.

Faced with these feelings and lacking coping mechanisms, adolescents can become overwhelmed and turn to escapist measures such as drugs, withdrawal, and ultimately suicide.

Almost all teens who take their own lives have a diagnosable mental disorder, including depression and/or anxiety.

However, the feelings of loss and hope that often lead to suicide are treatable, if caught in time. It is so important that parents, extended family, school officials, and friends be aware of the symptoms and behaviours that are often present when a youth is contemplating suicide.

Many mental health experts feel that stigma may prevent both youths and their families from seeking mental health treatment. Most youths are not willing to talk openly with their parents about feelings of depression, loss of control, hopelessness, and despair.

In any consumerist society it isn't surprising that from time to time adolescents feel 'down' or discouraged.

It is a natural phenomenon. But what about those times when youth's activity and outlook on life stay 'down' for weeks and begin to affect his relationship with others? If you know someone like this, he might be suffering from depression. You can help.

Depression can be treated: yes - even the most serious forms can be helped.

There are a variety of antidepressant medications and psychotherapies that can be used to treat depressive disorders.

Some people with milder forms may answer well with psychotherapy alone. Most do best with combined treatment: medication to gain relatively well with psychotherapy alone. But the important factor is that a youth with suicidal thoughts should (or encouraged to) see a physician, psychiatrist, or mental health expert immediately. That's where things begin to go wrong.

How does one know whether a youth is depressed?

In youths, anxiety or other depressive illnesses can be disguised as avoidance of school, obsessions, running away, risk-taking behaviours, failure to care about their appearance, drug and alcohol abuse, social avoidance and eating disorders.

Experts give simple and plain advice how to help a teenager or young adult who is threatening or contemplating suicide: be direct; talk matter-of-factly; be willing to listen; don't lecture, get involved, be available; seek medical help immediately; under medical guidance get help from people or agencies specializing in crisis.

According to the American Association of Suicidology, over 50 per cent of youth in the developing countries, at some point in their lives, contemplate suicide.

Most come to the realization that the crisis is temporary, and they have been given the tools by parents or professionals to cope with the situation.

On the other hand, kids in crisis sometimes think that they will feel this way forever, or that there is no solution to their dilemma. Here begins the problem.

However it is possible, through the coordinated actions of parents, peers, school personnel, and the community at large, to reverse the growing trend of teenage suicide. Counsellors can make the difference, by providing the leadership and motivation to guide the efforts.