Teenage Suicide

The recent rumor that Kim Anderson attempted suicide post-Gerald Anderson relationship caught my attention, not because I'm a fan of them, but because of the escalating cases of suicide attempts and suicide incidents among our teenagers.


Several weeks ago, TV Patrol reported of a 13 year old boy who undauntedly took his life after his father scolded him in front of his friends. Overseas, several news about teenagers taking their lives because of cyber bullying is the center of debate among parents, schools, and the government on how to control such malicious online behavior (though I think the real issue here is who to blame?)


Suicide is the intentional killing of oneself. Reasons why teenagers easily kill themselves may have change through the years. Factors such as lack of parental presence and guidance, substance abuse and alcoholism, peer pressure and acceptance, poverty, depression and hopelessness from a recent loss or problems encountered by the adolescent were identified as the major contributors to suicide among teenagers. Recently, availability and accessibility to firearms and cyberbullying are added to the long list of causes.


From this point of view, the internet is the most cruel way of putting the teenager in a compromised position - to face the shame or end one's life. 


Suicidal ideations, are also common among teenagers. This means thinking about killing oneself and should not be neglected. This is actually a prelim to what the person is capable of doing. Active suicidal ideation is when the person thinks about and finds way to commit suicide while passive suicidal ideation is when a person thinks about wanting to die or wishes he or she were dead but has no plans to cause his or her death. Of course, active ideations are more considered fatal and must be given close attention.


We may encounter persons expressing to end their lives, as a joke or with sense of hopelessness after a crisis situation. Either way, in the perspective of psychiatry, these are serious conditions. Men are more successful in committing the act and the methods they use are more graver than women. Statistics on women attempting suicide is higher compared to men, since women are naturally fickle-minded, so to speak.


Although the act is intentional, suicide involves ambivalence. Everybody thinks that there's no way to help a person who has plans of killing him or herself and that once a suicide risk, is always a suicide risk are actually myths that the public are constantly misinformed. The ambivalence that these individuals feel during their depressed moments often prompts the cries for help evident in overt and covert cues. This is the correct time to reach out to them and find help form situational supports, choose to live, learn new ways to cope, and move forward in life.


Teenage life is the most crucial phase of a person's growth and development. This is the crossroad where innocence and maturity are intertwined. With the changes in their physical appearance, the need to be identified and acknowledged in a group is a very significant milestone that needs to be achieved. The presence of a supportive parent, welcoming friends and other support help can help lessen the tendencies of teenagers in committing suicide.