Teen SuicideCarli Schipelliti & Grace Leahy

What Can Lead to Suicide/ Common Reasons

• Addictions• Depression• Anxiety • Traumatizing events

– Physical and/or mental abuse– Loss in family/friend (especially tragic, sudden death)

• Self-harm• Mental illness• Bullying• Neglection

http://www.destinationsdreamsanddogs.com/sweet-sour-children/

http://www.kjrh.com/marketplace/law-tv/bullying-has-become-problem-for-teachers

Statistics• Since 2004 suicide rates have increased 76% between

the ages 10 and 14, and have increased more than 30% between the ages 15-18.

• Each year almost 4,000 kids between the ages 15-24 kill themselves.

• The number has tripled over last 40-50 years.• The third leading cause of death of 15-24 year olds is

suicide.• The number of people who harm themselves when trying

to commit suicide is greater than number of people who succeed.

Common Ways to Commit Suicide

• Hanging• Overdose (pills, drugs, alcohol)• Self harm• Starving • Jumping• A deadly combination of alcohol and pills

http://gtpolice.com/gtpd-community-bulletin-keeping-prescription-drugs-out-of-the-hands-of-teens/

Warning Signs of Suicide

• Depression

• Becoming extra sensitive (irritable)

• Loss of interest in:

– Social interaction

– Activities that were once enjoyed

• Loss of appetite and/or weight change

• Moving slower

• Increase in sleep/ loss in energy

• Feeling worthless/ unneeded

• Drug and/or alcohol abuse

• Missing an excessive amount of school

• Doing poorly in school

• Behaving recklessly/ taking risks

http://fplawblog.blogspot.com/2013/08/missouri-nursing-home-care-scores-f.html

Warning Signs of Suicide (continued)

• Attempt at running away

• Earlier attempts at suicide

• Difficulty in:– Concentrating– Thinking– Making decisions

• Complaining of physical symptoms (ex. Stomach aches, headaches) without a clear cause

• Talking about suicide

• Self-harm (starving, cutting, burning)

• Writing about death

• Less social activity

• Having lost a friend/family member from suicide

Bibliography 1) “Program Reduces Teen Suicide Attempts.”

Harvard Reviews of Health News.  August 21, 2006 pNA.http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HWRC/hits?r=d&origSearch=true&rlt=1&bucket=ref&o=&n=10&searchTerm=2NTA&l=d&index=BA&basicSearchOption=KE&tcit=1_1_0_0_1_1&c=1&docNum=A169430932&locID=mlin_n_coolidge&secondary=false&t=RK&s=1&SU=teen+suicide

2) “Teen angst turns deadly: why girls are killing themselves”Eilene ZimmermanJanuary-February 2009http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA191426941&v=2.1&u=mlin_n_coolidge&it=r&p=PPPC&sw=w&asid=5e790433b44209071ba3ba3327622f20

Zimmerman, Eilene. "Teen angst turns deadly: why girls are killing themselves." Psychology Today Jan.-Feb. 2009: 30.Psychology Collection. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.