Teenage trauma
Chrisni MENDIS
Teenage suicide attempts in Sri Lanka have increases ten to fifteen
times fold since 1993. On the other hand, according to Sri Lanka
Sumithrayo, an organization set up to prevent suicide in Sri Lanka, the
rate of teen suicide had dropped from 47 out of 100,000 in 2005 to 20
out of 100,000 in 2008. Even though Sri Lanka has a declining trend for
successful suicides, the number of adolescents who attempt suicides
continue to increase. To reduce the rate of attempted suicide, the
public must be aware of its causes.
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Love
affairs are one of the main causes for teenage suicide in Sri
Lanka. Even though health issues from sexual activity is running
high, what seems to be as important, if not more important to
the Sri Lankan population, are the risk of losing
marriageability, unwanted pregnancy and social stigma |
Teenage trauma can eventually lead to drug
addiction, alcoholism and even suicide |
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‘Teenagers having problems’ is simply an understatement in the 21st
Century. Stress placed on the current adolescent generation includes not
only punishments at home or grades in school, but are interconnected.
According to Director of Sumithrayo Nalini Ellawela, most of the
suicides are caused by failed love affairs, failure at examinations and
fear of punishment at home.
Competition is a form of stress that most teens go through in the
21st Century. Examinations and other important assignments at school are
said to be one of the most aggravating aspects of a teenager’s life. “It
is because we know that we have to achieve the best to succeed in life,”
says a student from an International school in Colombo. The thought of
failing such assignments, which would eventually affect their life’s
goals, is the root cause of adolescent restlessness. Furthermore,
additional tension from parents builds on, causing them to eventually
break down.
Parents pressure their children to succeed in life but they often
tend to intimidate their children to study in an attempt to helping them
succeed. However, what is unknown to them is that they are continuously
fuelling the stress teenagers already face. The problem arises when
parents acknowledge their child solely because of their achievements and
not for their efforts. The parent gets disappointed with their child,
who does not measure up to their expectations. This arbitrary,
imaginative standard set by parents is what adds unnecessary pressure,
which often leads to inferiority complexes, or the child eventually
giving up and not applying effort as they would not be able to achieve
the goal their parents set for them.
Parents are supposed to provide the teenager with a loving, caring
and safe environment. When parents overly pressure the teenager, the
teen feels like their compassion is contingent to the number of ‘A’s the
teen gets on his or her report card. The solution to such a problem is
that the parent should appreciate the child not for what they achieve,
but for the effort the teenager puts into their assignments, whether the
results are positive or negative.
Harsh methods of punishments by parents such as shouting, screaming
or beating is another form of added stress on teenagers. Pressure formed
from prohibitions of what the teenager wants to do and what the teen can
do causes an unstable and disturbed home. Teenagers misunderstand their
parents and turn them into their antagonist. They feel that their
parents are forbidding them to do what they want because of their own
tyrannical right, rather than them thinking of their parents as
protecting and guiding them. The parent is supposed to guide their child
through life, support and advise them in making their decisions without
making the decisions for them.
“My parents have pressured me to do things in the past which I
objected to” says a teenager from Colombo. In addition, some parents use
brutal punishments to further distance themselves from their children.
Ranging from what classes to take for their A-Ls to what type of friends
to spend time with, parents have a large influence in a teenager’s life
and at times they push their children to do things that they do not
necessarily want to do and adolescents react in a rash and aggressive
manner. This is because teenagers are undergoing dramatic biological and
psychological changes and are hostile and quick to react. They try to
“impose discipline on us and not give us enough freedom” states a
student.
Attempted suicide has also been a result of student mistreatment.
Epidemics such as ragging and bullying in school or university
environments not only caused several fatalities over the years, but have
also increased suicide risks among the student population. Ragging in
Sri Lanka is an act that is taken to a whole other level of inhumanity.
To create a definition for ragging in Sri Lankan terms we would have to
look upon implementing fatal injuries, which would eventually lead to
the victim attempting suicide. In comparison to common ragging, victims
of individual rags are more likely to attempt suicide because of having
to performing unnatural and painful sexual acts, which inflict
physically and mentally scars.
Love affairs are one of the main precipitating causes for teenage
suicide in Sri Lanka. Even though health issues from sexual activity is
running high, what seems to be as important, if not more important to
the Sri Lankan population, are the risk of losing marriageability,
unwanted pregnancy, social stigma and losing face. “Tensions associated
with premarital sex and difficulties in the domain of love may be
underlying factors in a range of radical problems in contemporary Sri
Lanka, including the problem of youth suicide, youth insurgency, drug
addiction and alcoholism,” stated in a study in the Sri Lanka Journal of
Sciences (1998). This is because adolescents are beginning to experience
adult emotions such as lust and love; these changes make them more
sensitive to the pressure placed on them.
Solutions to releasing stress must be implemented by parents and
friends of the teenager that is going through distressing times. A local
teenager states, “It is something I have to handle on my own, but
sometimes I wish I had someone to talk to.” Teenagers in the current
world are turning towards negative outlets for their tension. An
adolescent is prone to drinking and smoking if they do not have anyone
to talk to about their problems. During stressful times, a teenager
wishes for someone to reassure them and comfort them rather than taking
liquor and pouring it down their throats or inhaling toxic cigarette
fumes; however if there is no one who can reassure them, and their
parents continue to agitate them, the youth leans towards alcohol and
tobacco as they feel that it’s the only relief that will release them
from their mental incarceration.
Furthermore, pressures placed on the adolescent generation can have
drastic consequences. Alcohol, drugs and smoking would have dire effects
on a youngster, which would eventually lead to addiction, or worse,
teenage suicide. Solutions to these problems are only as easy as one
says it is. Parents, ‘communicate with your children’. Friends, ‘help
each other out, and don’t promote each other to drink or smoke or do
drugs even though it could be highly tempting’. Who knows, a simple
conversation can change someone’s life, which will positively result in
creating a hopeful younger generation for the ever-modernizing world. |