Suicide rate up amongst teens

csds703

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Kids' Suicides Rise, CDC Report Finds


Chicago - New government figures show a surprising increase in youth suicides after a decade of decline, and some mental health experts think a drop in use of antidepressant drugs may be to blame.

The suicide rate climbed 18 percent from 2003 to 2004 for Americans under age 20, from 1,737 deaths to 1,985. Most suicides occurred in older teens, according to the data _ the most current to date from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.



http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/05/AR2007020501145.html


EDITED BY DP DUE TO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT
 
This is so sad. I think sometimes we as adults forget the pressures put on teenagers and we need to pull back a little bit. My daughter has a friend who writes in a diary type of thing about wanting to 'get out of this life'...She is continuously trying to please her dad who is always yelling at her and just expects her to be perfect in every way. I have talked to the mom and she has spoken with the father but he is set in his ways and basically said well if she does that then its her own fault.... :doh: Then I have friends myself who expect their teenager to bring home nothing less then a straight A report card. Sometimes I wonder if that is because they really are that concerned over their childs education or is it so they feel they have then earned bragging rights and so to uphold some type of image? I dont know but really I feel sorry for alot of teenagers I remember being one and feeling like nobody understood me. I was never suicidal but sometimes the way the parents treat and talk to their child even as a teenager I couldnt imagine going through that.
 
Well that was an interesting read. I think it is too early to tell what all the variables are that could have contributed to this increase. but the hypothesis is reasonable enough. I will be anxious to see how this pans out.

I have no issue with young people having access to anitdepressants if they are depressed. But, just like adults, I think those that take them should couple it with talk therapy. This is my biggest beef with the freely prescribed anti-d society. The dosages should be left to those that deal with it regularly and they should go hand in hand with talk therapy.

My son is epielptic and often that is accompanied by depression. I was talking to his neurologist about the fact that some anti-d's were to blame for the increase in suicides. he explained to me that they don't know for sure why that is, but there is a prevailing theory. When some people get really depressed they do not want to do anything. They do not have the drive or interest to follow through on things and have difficulty functioning in general. Once they start the anti-d's, it lifts them up just enough to get up and follow thru on something they have been to depressed to do. Like kill themselves. They get just enough drive to commit suicide.
Also interesting is that while I think my epileptic son might benefit from anti-d's, he absolutely refuses to take them. This is because he knows kids that were on them that are now dead. he believes there is a cause and effect relationship. I would hate to see a self-fulfilling prophecy, so I respect his decision.
 
I think part of the problem with anti depressants is that they are prescribed by family practitioners and pediatricians rather than psychaitrists. There is no follow up or therapy like JBean said.

Depression needs to be treated like an illness. There should be proper testing and referrals when necessary.

JBean, I'm sorry about your son.
 
True, there is a lot of pressure on teenagers and not just from parents but from their peers also--A teenager's life is a hard one--It is tough physically, it is tough socially,and it is tough academically--There are not many adults who see their high school years as the best years of their lives
 
csds703 said:
I think part of the problem with anti depressants is that they are prescribed by family practitioners and pediatricians rather than psychaitrists. There is no follow up or therapy like JBean said.

Depression needs to be treated like an illness. There should be proper testing and referrals when necessary.

JBean, I'm sorry about your son.
Thank you csds and I agree completely with your post.
 
Peter Hamilton said:
True, there is a lot of pressure on teenagers and not just from parents but from their peers also--A teenager's life is a hard one--It is tough physically, it is tough socially,and it is tough academically--There are not many adults who see their high school years as the best years of their lives
I know I would not want to go through it again...no way.
 
My daughter is 13 and tonight, she started telling me about a boy her age in dance class who is "emo". She said that he is emo and so are a lot of his friends. I asked her what emo meant and she said that it means that you wear a lot of black clothes and black eyeliner so she said they are kind of goth-looking but then they also cut themselves. I asked her if she knew what emo was short for and she didn't. I would guess it is short for emotional or emotionally disturbed. Anyway, her friend from dance class is a whopping 14 years old and his friend committed suicide last night. She said he was very nonchalant when talking about it and she said that the boy said a lot of his friends talk about wanting to do it. I am glad my daughter feels comfortable opening up to me but sometimes, what comes out of her mouth scares the crap out of me. The things that kids her age talk about and do are things I had no idea about at all when I was 13.
 
kidzndogznme said:
My daughter is 13 and tonight, she started telling me about a boy her age in dance class who is "emo". She said that he is emo and so are a lot of his friends. I asked her what emo meant and she said that it means that you wear a lot of black clothes and black eyeliner so she said they are kind of goth-looking but then they also cut themselves. I asked her if she knew what emo was short for and she didn't. I would guess it is short for emotional or emotionally disturbed. Anyway, her friend from dance class is a whopping 14 years old and his friend committed suicide last night. She said he was very nonchalant when talking about it and she said that the boy said a lot of his friends talk about wanting to do it. I am glad my daughter feels comfortable opening up to me but sometimes, what comes out of her mouth scares the crap out of me. The things that kids her age talk about and do are things I had no idea about at all when I was 13.
I'm new here and wanted to comment that I worry a lot about my grandchildren growing up in this society. They're smart and have great personalities but every day you read something about the same type kid doing something horrible to themselves or someone else. It scares me.
 
I'm going to speak to my daughter who has a 14 yr. old son and almost 12 year old daughter. Just to keep her up to date on things like this I read.
They have a wonderful family life, 2 very caring parents, own home in nice area, and are very smart, nice kids. But you never know for sure what they're listening to at school.

Things are so much different now than when people my age (58 tomorrow) were kids..As another poster said, I never even thought about such things as a kid. And I had a very hard childhood. And teenagehood. ( Is that a real word)?!?
 
Something else I just thought about. I wonder if some kids think about the dramatics of suicide and picture of others grieving over them and maybe "getting back" at someone or society.
And also probably some of them don't really grasp the finality of it.
 
It's a hard life for us adults, let alone teenagers. Can you guys imagine being a young teenager in todays world?

As some of you know, my sons very good friend killed himself 3 months ago. He had SO MUCH going for him. He had no history of depression. He was not your typical angst-filled teenager, or "emo" kid....he was well liked by all, lived with a great family who didn't pressure him to be "the best", great looking, wasn't teased or bullied, participated in extra cirricular activities and family activities, etc. You name it. His girlfriend broke up with him and he shot himself in his home. Scary. It hit too close to home for me. The scariest thing about it was that there were none of the so-called "typical" warning signs. I am going on the assumption that he just didn't realize the finality of it, but then again he was a smart boy, he knew what would happen when he pulled that trigger, and when I think of it that way, of course he knew the finality of it.

I think our kids have inherited a world where death and destruction is shown on TV all day, every day. Death is almost glamorized. Right now, there is a video circulating on myspace of a girl in a car with her family and she takes a gun and shoots herself in the head, and it is slow-motioned so that you get a very close look at the result. It's horrifying. I do not know if it's real or if it is fake, but it looks real and genuine to me. Kids have this on their myspace page and it's scary as hell!
 
kidzndogznme said:
My daughter is 13 and tonight, she started telling me about a boy her age in dance class who is "emo". She said that he is emo and so are a lot of his friends. I asked her what emo meant and she said that it means that you wear a lot of black clothes and black eyeliner so she said they are kind of goth-looking but then they also cut themselves. I asked her if she knew what emo was short for and she didn't. I would guess it is short for emotional or emotionally disturbed. Anyway, her friend from dance class is a whopping 14 years old and his friend committed suicide last night. She said he was very nonchalant when talking about it and she said that the boy said a lot of his friends talk about wanting to do it. I am glad my daughter feels comfortable opening up to me but sometimes, what comes out of her mouth scares the crap out of me. The things that kids her age talk about and do are things I had no idea about at all when I was 13.
I can totally relate to this post.
My daughter is now 17, but when she was 13/14 she would come home and tell me the most bizarre stories. I was horrified to hear what some kids were doing and thinking.
I personally feel that kids today are exposed to too much information that they can't possibly process. The internet, 42 billion tv channels, video games, and the fact that most kids end up being latch key kids by 12 yrs old. As a parent, I try to keep up with what's going on in their world, but sometimes it's hard.
 

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