As a mental health system I believe as a whole we have failed the system. Parents and teachers not having enough knowledge or education on how to see signs that something is wrong instead of pushing it away. We need to talk about what leads to suicide in teens and the mental health disorders that are in place which potentially leads to suicide.
"The health care system needs to strengthen access to and delivery of mental health care"
As a child psychiatrist in a state with a relatively functional health care system I can attest to the fact that access to quality mental health treatment is an enormous contributor to this worsening problem. That, and the increasing "mindlessness" of most in-network insurance-funded psychiatric treatment contribute to the terrible outcomes that we are seeing.
2
More than talking about suicide, we should talk about mental issues, making sure to point out how common it is to go through hard times, and reassuring others that there is a way to get out of it.
Unfortunately, I often feel as there is still reluctance to openly talk about mental pain.
I feel as our society pushes us to be always happy, healthy, proactive, successful. There isn’t any room left for who doesn’t fit the model, and I believe that this is what makes people feel worse about their problems.
Improving this aspect of our society, would lead us to a healthier system where there will be an embracing attitude towards who is going through psychological pain.
Let’s be less focused on what we should be, and let’s listen more to what we really are. We will find out that no one is perfect, and that sharing our fragilities will make us all stronger.
3
The University of Illinois has a longstanding model for suicide prevention/intervention.
https://counselingcenter.illinois.edu/outreach-consultation-prevention/o...
2
Thanks for this piece. It hasn't come a day too soon, given the frightening grip of the Blue Whale challenge and the like over our young.
Being a media man myself, I fully agree that the media has failed to play a responsible role in shaping the narrative around suicide. In my country India, which is home to one of the world's most depressed populations, the media has a better chance, prima facie, of influencing public opinion than in many other countries: The Edelman Trust Barometer shows that the Indian people's trust in the media is actually on an upswing, defying trends in much of the developed world. This makes the media's failure to establish norms for responsible reporting on mental-health issues in general, and suicide in particular, even more galling.
A study conducted by NIMHANS, India's premier mental-health research institute located in Bangalore -- India's Silicon Valley -- shows that English as well as local-language newspapers break the WHO guidelines on suicide reporting with equal impunity. While researching a piece of my own (www.healthcollective.in/blog), I discovered that the reason is not so much deliberate apathy but lack of awareness. Editors and reporters simply don't know these guidelines exist. No regulator exists to monitor compliance, neither do we have penalties for non-compliance. Combined with the media's newfound obsession with "viral" content, these are ideal conditions for sensationalism and glamorisation of suicide.
Being a media man myself, I fully agree that the media has failed to play a responsible role in shaping the narrative around suicide. In my country India, which is home to one of the world's most depressed populations, the media has a better chance, prima facie, of influencing public opinion than in many other countries: The Edelman Trust Barometer shows that the Indian people's trust in the media is actually on an upswing, defying trends in much of the developed world. This makes the media's failure to establish norms for responsible reporting on mental-health issues in general, and suicide in particular, even more galling.
A study conducted by NIMHANS, India's premier mental-health research institute located in Bangalore -- India's Silicon Valley -- shows that English as well as local-language newspapers break the WHO guidelines on suicide reporting with equal impunity. While researching a piece of my own (www.healthcollective.in/blog), I discovered that the reason is not so much deliberate apathy but lack of awareness. Editors and reporters simply don't know these guidelines exist. No regulator exists to monitor compliance, neither do we have penalties for non-compliance. Combined with the media's newfound obsession with "viral" content, these are ideal conditions for sensationalism and glamorisation of suicide.
1
"We need to talk about suicide in ways that help, not harm. We need to make sure young people have no access to guns. And we need to make sure they are connected enough to each other, to family, and to the health care system so that those at risk can be recognized and given the care they need. The rising toll shows we should not ignore this problem, or pretend that it’s just too hard."
I find this concluding paragraph of Mr. Carroll's just the kind of talk one ought to expect to hear from "professionals" taught to objectify persons as social creatures in a way that suits social engineers or social attitude managers. At school, students learn that education is something done to them; their part in making that happen is learning to please others with "tests" and acquiring winning reflexes of signable submissive willingnes to get with the progam without asking a lot of questions why. In horse training, this is called "breaking."
Those who contemplate suicide face social pressures for collective acceptance: "giving up those childish thoughts and inclinations." Being just an experienced human being, if I were to catch a person on the verge of killing herself, I'd talk about what I did when faced with suicidal thoughts; and most persons flirt with suicide sometime. I'd say, why not push the collective zombie out ot the driver's seat and start driving the car yourself autonomously. And, what is more, you don't have to tell anyone it's you driving now, not the zombie guy.
I find this concluding paragraph of Mr. Carroll's just the kind of talk one ought to expect to hear from "professionals" taught to objectify persons as social creatures in a way that suits social engineers or social attitude managers. At school, students learn that education is something done to them; their part in making that happen is learning to please others with "tests" and acquiring winning reflexes of signable submissive willingnes to get with the progam without asking a lot of questions why. In horse training, this is called "breaking."
Those who contemplate suicide face social pressures for collective acceptance: "giving up those childish thoughts and inclinations." Being just an experienced human being, if I were to catch a person on the verge of killing herself, I'd talk about what I did when faced with suicidal thoughts; and most persons flirt with suicide sometime. I'd say, why not push the collective zombie out ot the driver's seat and start driving the car yourself autonomously. And, what is more, you don't have to tell anyone it's you driving now, not the zombie guy.
Far from keeping people apart, social media can make everyone connected whether they want to be or not. A person on Facebook has friends of friends of friends who can react to a situation, frequently in a negative way. It's even faster on Twitter. An ill-advised or bullying Tweet can be magnified in seconds, which means instead of having only a few people know you made an error in judgement or conversely received a bullying tweet, literally thousands can know about it. When what seems like the whole world telling you that you are wrong, sometimes suicide may seem like the best way out of embarrassment when you are a teenager. I personally don't have any social media accounts because I value my privacy, but it seems imperative that young people have to so they can stay connected to their friends. Recently a young woman was convicted of encouraging a young man to commit suicide. Her lawyer claimed the texts were just words. Words can kill. Kids need to have a safe place where they can go for help when the social media they value turns on them to the extent that death is the only answer.
The stats show that homes with guns have a higher incidence of death either by suicide or murder. That may be a big convenience to those contemplating death, but that is only part of the problem. Girls usually do not shoot themselves. Teens need a safe place where they can seek guidance and help when it seems life is hopeless. Bullying is common at school. Help should start there.
The stats show that homes with guns have a higher incidence of death either by suicide or murder. That may be a big convenience to those contemplating death, but that is only part of the problem. Girls usually do not shoot themselves. Teens need a safe place where they can seek guidance and help when it seems life is hopeless. Bullying is common at school. Help should start there.
4
When I was a suicidal teenager, back in the 1970's, I was fortunate to live in a town where there was a 24-hour hotline and drop-in center where you could go when you felt that way. Another teen told me about the place and I am indebted to her to this day. I was able to just show up and a trained peer counselor was available to talk to me plus I was able to join group therapy sessions there, led by a licensed social worker. It was such a relief to me that I eventually ended up volunteering at the place myself to help others.
Before I found the counseling center, I felt that no one could understand how I felt and no one was willing to listen. My parents certainly didn't.
When I tried to talk about my feelings, I was told things like "It's just a phase", or "you'll grow out of it" or "just get over it".
I believe that mental health classes should be required in high school, to teach teens the basics on how to help themselves when they feel this way, and to teach people how to help others. We could really prevent a lot of suicides and prevent a lot of unnecessary suffering of all kinds....
Before I found the counseling center, I felt that no one could understand how I felt and no one was willing to listen. My parents certainly didn't.
When I tried to talk about my feelings, I was told things like "It's just a phase", or "you'll grow out of it" or "just get over it".
I believe that mental health classes should be required in high school, to teach teens the basics on how to help themselves when they feel this way, and to teach people how to help others. We could really prevent a lot of suicides and prevent a lot of unnecessary suffering of all kinds....
32
Thank you for showing how beneficial counseling programs are. In Long Island there is a program called Response, staffed by volunteers, that offers telephone counseling and also sends its trained volunteers directly to local schools.
8
Thank you.
3
Please do a video, or a video series, about this on Healthcare Triage. Your channel is an outstanding source of information, and this is another hot-button topic deserving of attention.
"To the research!"
"To the research!"
2
Where to begin? Failure of the medical schools to train psychiatrists, failure of the insurance companies to reimburse, failure of hospitals to support psychiatric services for either teens or adults, failure to know enough about neuroscience and the plasticity of the brain, failure of primary care physicians to learn psychiatry in med school-or just enough to pass the National exam but not enough really, failure to learn psychopharmacology, failure of social services to help children in need, failure of our schools to have the teachers who take the time to observe and talk to a teen in need, failure of the family to care more about the kids than the adults, failure of our churches to provide good programs for teens, well, just all around -we have failed!
12
@Kathryn I agree with you as a whole we have failed we need to be more educated and as parents have more education and knowledge on dealing with such situations. The mental health system is broken and needs to be fixed.
People who are living in pain need a way to humanely end their lives. I do not advocate this for young people yet middle aged or older people should have this option. The medical community needs to get over themselves in their opposition to helping people who rationally want to stop living.
A person should not have to pick up a handgun to get out of pain.
A person should not have to pick up a handgun to get out of pain.
7
Guns, pills, knives, access to the roof, access to waterbodies, access to rail tracks... What all will you keep locking up? They are not the problem. The problem has already started when someone is contemplating these options. The problem is what's leading to these thoughts.
People in general are less connected with other humans. Social media is not connection. Connection is when you can actually talk knowing that the other party cares and will help. For that you need just handful of really close relationships. Not a gazillion "friends" on FB.
Lack of face to face human interaction is also making folks too thin skinned. The merest insult is driving extreme reaction by cocooned folks.
Teenagers have always sought acceptance and peer approval. Nothing new. And when someone is mean, there have always been tears and scuffles. And then you came home and it was ok. The difference today is carrying these things around 24x7 through the smartphone and the fact that it is not a couple of meanies, but a couple of hundred at times...even complete outsiders...because of indiscriminately humongous be"friend"ing.
Social media is an issue. And parents need to step up and take responsibility. Society in general, the legal system, the school system etc have roles to play. But parents can't keep shirking their responsibilities in putting sense into their kids. And that's going to be tough when parents themselves are busy fishing LIKES on their constant posting.
People in general are less connected with other humans. Social media is not connection. Connection is when you can actually talk knowing that the other party cares and will help. For that you need just handful of really close relationships. Not a gazillion "friends" on FB.
Lack of face to face human interaction is also making folks too thin skinned. The merest insult is driving extreme reaction by cocooned folks.
Teenagers have always sought acceptance and peer approval. Nothing new. And when someone is mean, there have always been tears and scuffles. And then you came home and it was ok. The difference today is carrying these things around 24x7 through the smartphone and the fact that it is not a couple of meanies, but a couple of hundred at times...even complete outsiders...because of indiscriminately humongous be"friend"ing.
Social media is an issue. And parents need to step up and take responsibility. Society in general, the legal system, the school system etc have roles to play. But parents can't keep shirking their responsibilities in putting sense into their kids. And that's going to be tough when parents themselves are busy fishing LIKES on their constant posting.
7
I'm frightened by the strict adherence to the taboo against criticising child abuse (for the sake of the parents?) this article takes. Why no mention of the role of child abuse in wearing down children's will to live? By and large children who feel loved and are not abused in some way do not want to die. Psychological abuse is hard to spot and hidden by the abusers, but it's as common in the home as outside of it. Bullies are not simply other kids, and the ones that are rarely the worst. We can't enter every home. We can't judge any set of parents in the abstract, but we should tear down the taboo against talking about child abuse in all forums and as a society should provide free mental health care to any parent feeling stress or alienation with their children. We can train teachers to watch for signs of domestic violence and set up protocols for when both teachers and/or parents should contact a social worker. We can change the way we allocate funds in schools to aid mental health resources. There was an article today about a high school with a 18 million dollar stadium. Meanwhile our healthcare system, and child social care languishes. Suicide is not a deep dark incomprehensible mystery. Child abuse must be discussed.
19
Yes - parents are let off the hook as if their child's depression came out of nowhere. If your child is in great pain but can't talk to you about it, something is very wrong in your family.
3
Although we have parity in mental health coverage, there is a significant problem encountered when accessing mental health care. Beginning in the 1980's, HMO's became a dominant force. One of the ways HMO's controlled costs was to severely limit access to mental health care. They did this by flooding mental health professionals with paperwork defending their clients need for services. The insurance companies, rather than mental health professionals, made all of the clinical decisions- who could receive services, what type of services they could receive, how many visits and how frequently patients could be seen. Insurance companies dictated all the terms for service while leaving mental health professionals both ethically and legally responsible for patient outcomes.
Because of this, most mental health professionals chose to become "out of network" providers, meaning they do not accept insurance as a source of payment. So, patients must pay at the time of service and seek reimbursement through their insurance company. Insurance companies reimburse out of network care at a lower rate (typically 10-20% lower) and, that reimbursement only comes after a very high deductible has been met.
Unless a patient is severely impaired needing either inpatient treatment or intensive outpatient care, it is likely that a patient needing mental health services will pay for the entire course of treatment and never receive insurance reimbursement. Most people can simply not afford to do this.
Because of this, most mental health professionals chose to become "out of network" providers, meaning they do not accept insurance as a source of payment. So, patients must pay at the time of service and seek reimbursement through their insurance company. Insurance companies reimburse out of network care at a lower rate (typically 10-20% lower) and, that reimbursement only comes after a very high deductible has been met.
Unless a patient is severely impaired needing either inpatient treatment or intensive outpatient care, it is likely that a patient needing mental health services will pay for the entire course of treatment and never receive insurance reimbursement. Most people can simply not afford to do this.
12
Your excellent point, coupled with the utter lack of psychiatrists, particularly child psychiatrists, prevents treatment when the problems are brewing. Instead, psychiatric treatment appears to have become reactive and reaches people after they land in the emergency room. From there, they will generally have a 3-5 day stay focused primarily on medication IF the patient agrees, and processing groups. Many people do not realize what inpatient psychiatric care has devolved to in 2017--keep the person safe short term, give them treatment options for outpatient care, and hope that they follow through. My hope is that society can train more psychiatrists, therapists and social workers to really give the suicidal patient more than a meager lifeline, and instead build a scaffolding to support them as they climb out of the depths of their illness.
1
We need to acknowledge, accept, and adjust to the fact that today's kids are living out in the "real world" by the time they hit age thirteen. The internet is omnipresent, and there's no effective way to shield them from it. They understand technology better than most adults. They can sit on the couch with a bored expression and casually see and do things that used to require sneaking out, getting a fake ID, and knowing some impressively well-connected "bad influences."
On top of that, we have to grasp that adolescence – and all its drama and angst and humiliation – now unfolds in all too permanent writing and photos. Who needs to spread rumors when you can just take a screengrab of someone's "private" posts or texts and send them to other people? There's no denying you said this or that, and no way to be reassured when you've seen proof of horrible things a friend said about you. Throw in the fact that most of them have parents who are Facebook friends with people THEY went to high school with, and it probably does seem like whatever happens at that age is utterly inescapable.
We have to get better at empathizing with these new, unfamiliar experiences, and being supportive about whatever they take seriously. "Instagram likes" might sound silly, but it means "the quantifiable measurement of my popularity, which everyone else can see." If we scoff dismissively about things like that, they feel like we're scoffing at them. And that's when they stop coming to us for help.
On top of that, we have to grasp that adolescence – and all its drama and angst and humiliation – now unfolds in all too permanent writing and photos. Who needs to spread rumors when you can just take a screengrab of someone's "private" posts or texts and send them to other people? There's no denying you said this or that, and no way to be reassured when you've seen proof of horrible things a friend said about you. Throw in the fact that most of them have parents who are Facebook friends with people THEY went to high school with, and it probably does seem like whatever happens at that age is utterly inescapable.
We have to get better at empathizing with these new, unfamiliar experiences, and being supportive about whatever they take seriously. "Instagram likes" might sound silly, but it means "the quantifiable measurement of my popularity, which everyone else can see." If we scoff dismissively about things like that, they feel like we're scoffing at them. And that's when they stop coming to us for help.
12
Maybe we should do more to make Healthcare affordable and mental health accessible. the way it is now it's cheaper and easier to buy a gun than to see a therapist and be put on meds. also those suicide hotlines can sometimes make you feel worse. the people there are volunteers following a script to make sure your not dying right now. And not professionals. They can also be judgemental and not helpful. And they can call the police which does nothing.
1
Guns are pretty expensive. Daughter wanted one for protection when she lived in Austin.
Why were suicide rates so much higher in the 1990s and what made them come down?
7
Accepting as human those who are different, in particular our LGBTI youth, would sigmifcantly lower the teen suicide rate. Being LGBTI is neither a choice nor a disease.
Too often LGBTI youth are rejected in their families of origin. They are treated as freaks, an embarrassment to the family and serve as a constant reminder for the parents of their "failure" to produce a "normal" child.
Outside the family they are regularly bullied and taunted with derogatory words such as "fag" and "queer," hostility, indifference. What words do they hear in their houses of worship? Abomination, Anathema, Cursed, Damned, Delusional, Rejected, Unloved...
Being treated as an outsider, outside the pale of the acceptable yield fewer and fewer options and a world ever less safe. Suicide, can thus appear as a more rational option. It ends permanently the individual pain and the family shame.
Acceptance and listening become the major modalities of preventing suicide not only for LGBTI teens but for all other populations.
Too often LGBTI youth are rejected in their families of origin. They are treated as freaks, an embarrassment to the family and serve as a constant reminder for the parents of their "failure" to produce a "normal" child.
Outside the family they are regularly bullied and taunted with derogatory words such as "fag" and "queer," hostility, indifference. What words do they hear in their houses of worship? Abomination, Anathema, Cursed, Damned, Delusional, Rejected, Unloved...
Being treated as an outsider, outside the pale of the acceptable yield fewer and fewer options and a world ever less safe. Suicide, can thus appear as a more rational option. It ends permanently the individual pain and the family shame.
Acceptance and listening become the major modalities of preventing suicide not only for LGBTI teens but for all other populations.
8
Enforcement of World Law Human Rights Equality is necessary. Immediate Removal of children from these violent, unhealthy uneducated places is most important. World Class Equal Rights is a basic. The USA Economy will suffer until World Class requirements are met.
Dr. Carroll chooses to ignore another factor that has been found to have been correlated with the rise of teen suicides.
The FDA put warnings about suicidal ideation on antidepressant medications even on those for which there was no evidence that they were associated with it. Prescriptions for antidepressants markedly declined because primary care doctors became afraid to prescribe them and, unfortunately, because of a shortage of child and adolescent psychiatrists they have become de facto mental health professionals despite their lack of training.
Would anybody be surprised if death from diabetes rose if doctors became afraid of prescribing the medications used to treat it.
The FDA put warnings about suicidal ideation on antidepressant medications even on those for which there was no evidence that they were associated with it. Prescriptions for antidepressants markedly declined because primary care doctors became afraid to prescribe them and, unfortunately, because of a shortage of child and adolescent psychiatrists they have become de facto mental health professionals despite their lack of training.
Would anybody be surprised if death from diabetes rose if doctors became afraid of prescribing the medications used to treat it.
7
I'm simply shocked by the absence of a particular word in this article: parents.
I'm the survivor of suicide attempts. My abusive parent repeatedly said these words to me and my sibling when we were very little: "I wish you were dead."
I believed her and have spent a lot of my life trying to either fulfill her wishes and simultaneously eradicate them from my soul through therapy.
Uncaring or abusive parents, usually mentally ill themselves, are the source of a lot of this, as is our cavalier attitude toward language. Children are not able to handle this kind of verbal abuse. Being bullied by a parent is the most effective means to sow the seeds of suicidal ideation. Nature plus lack of nurture is a dangerous recipe.
This in no way detracts from the horrible experience of loving parents who lose a child this way.
But attention must be paid.
I'm the survivor of suicide attempts. My abusive parent repeatedly said these words to me and my sibling when we were very little: "I wish you were dead."
I believed her and have spent a lot of my life trying to either fulfill her wishes and simultaneously eradicate them from my soul through therapy.
Uncaring or abusive parents, usually mentally ill themselves, are the source of a lot of this, as is our cavalier attitude toward language. Children are not able to handle this kind of verbal abuse. Being bullied by a parent is the most effective means to sow the seeds of suicidal ideation. Nature plus lack of nurture is a dangerous recipe.
This in no way detracts from the horrible experience of loving parents who lose a child this way.
But attention must be paid.
29
Parenting should be an earned privilege. Your parents committed crimes against you. They should have been arrested. Hopefully, in the near Future, we all will receive our Individual Human Rights, and be living in decent non-violent environments. ----- Doctors and Police need to improve. Schools need to improve. The USA Government needs to improve.
3
I suspect right now part of it is well meaning parents putting outrageous pressure on kids today to be trophy kids too.....there's such an emphasis on over planning their lives, demanding all As, no mistakes etc....
5
Let's broaden our perspective on suicide, not only to mental health and friendships and the global outlook, but to the physical conditions of the body and mind. How do these young people thrive biochemically: Do they sleep enough, do they walk or bike every day, get sunlight and fresh air, eat vegetables and high-quality fatty acids for their brains? Or do they live their life indoors with all sorts of chemistry in carpets and wall paints, sit down all day staring at screens, eat mostly bread and pasta and chips and candy? Depression and suicidal thoughts have a biochemical aspect too that responsible adults can help influence.
16
At the same time, we need emotionally fulfilling ways for adolescents (and anyone else) to find meaning and purpose in their lives. Some may choose religion, some may not, some may need a combination. Just telling people to volunteer and value relationships isn't enough; the 'why' of meaning and purpose has to surface as well.
3
Suicide is a complex problem with no easy solution.
In fact, it starts with whether the rates are true or not.
Murder rates are fairly accurate but suicide rates are not.
They are influenced by several factors. One is to prove it is a true suicide or murder or accident. Some countries like Finland are very thorough/honest/liberal with their stats that end up with higher rates. Muslim countries swear they have no suicides in their countries because of their religion.
In fact, it starts with whether the rates are true or not.
Murder rates are fairly accurate but suicide rates are not.
They are influenced by several factors. One is to prove it is a true suicide or murder or accident. Some countries like Finland are very thorough/honest/liberal with their stats that end up with higher rates. Muslim countries swear they have no suicides in their countries because of their religion.
5
This story should receive a lot more coverage in the news than it's getting. I notice also a tendency in these comments to downplay access to guns as a leading cause of successful suicide attempts. If 45% of teen suicides are by use of guns, then why is there such a willingness to ignore this? Access to a gun needs to be stopped, and issuing guns to people with mental health issues needs to be prevented. These statistics are frightening, when you consider also the failed attempts.
The figures on the low numbers of high school seniors going out on and having fun or on a date are shocking. 59% are going out for fun once or less a week! That is unhealthy - they should be enjoying life and their youth!
The figures on the low numbers of high school seniors going out on and having fun or on a date are shocking. 59% are going out for fun once or less a week! That is unhealthy - they should be enjoying life and their youth!
15
I think you made some extremely valid and important points gf. I completely agree with your assessment. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts.
2
If your hypothetical about access to guns and suicide was correct then we would see other first world countries with tougher access to firearms having lower rates - we don't see that. For example . Iceland and Canada have higher rates than the USA.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1414751/table/T1/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1414751/table/T1/
Guns in the US have been available to teens for many decades, and in some areas, with far fewer laws and less parental supervision. Yet suicides rates are rising NOW. So what has changed in 10 years? Think...THINK!
It's social media. It's smartphones. THAT IS WHAT HAS CHANGED.
I'm a boomer, but I have grandkids in their teens and know many teens in my neighborhood, or the children/grandchildren of friends. They are absolutely OBSESSED with their smartphones, even the classic "good kids with good grades". My grandchildren, ages 13 and 15, literally SLEEP with their phones, lest any texts come at 3AM, and so they can check the phone immediately upon rising. That cannot be normal or healthy.
The degree of bullying, plus competition with others on social media (who is prettiest? most popular? gets the most likes?) is something no other generations in history ever had to contend with. And it is driving our kids bonkers.
That's why. Get rid of the phones, and 80% of the problem goes away instantly.
It's social media. It's smartphones. THAT IS WHAT HAS CHANGED.
I'm a boomer, but I have grandkids in their teens and know many teens in my neighborhood, or the children/grandchildren of friends. They are absolutely OBSESSED with their smartphones, even the classic "good kids with good grades". My grandchildren, ages 13 and 15, literally SLEEP with their phones, lest any texts come at 3AM, and so they can check the phone immediately upon rising. That cannot be normal or healthy.
The degree of bullying, plus competition with others on social media (who is prettiest? most popular? gets the most likes?) is something no other generations in history ever had to contend with. And it is driving our kids bonkers.
That's why. Get rid of the phones, and 80% of the problem goes away instantly.
14
Sorry, it's guns. You may think kids are addicted to their phones but their phones aren't lethal weapons that they can kill themselves with in an impulsive moment. Get rid of the guns and many many kids keep living.
8
@CC
Did you even BOTHER to read the column?
Time and time again you ignore ALL facts.
1) Switzerland no longer allowed its citizen-soldiers to take their guns home at night. The rate of suicides DROPPED 60%.
2) A person who lives in a home with a gun has a SEVEN times grater chance of dying by a gun that those who live in homes without guns.
3) We had horrific bullying WELL BEFORE “smart phones.”
4) We doctors in emergency medicine have rallied to show that “one person car collisions (running into a concrete barrier)” are suicides after there has been an investigation. All those “cars ‘stuck or stalled’ on railroad tracks” were suicides. Pulling out in front of large trucks, speeding cars...investigation found suicide.
We doctors want to STUDY this epidemic. But the NRA and folks such as you are so frightened of the “government having a data base of guns” that the NRA refuses to allow intervention by the CDC!
CC, if some nutcase congress REFUSED to allow the CDC to study ebola, dengue fever, avian flu, and hemorrhagic diseases because SATAN CAUSED THESE DISEASES I would hope you would say “NO! Let the CDC study this!”
This is an epidemic across the USA. As scientists we want to study the epidemic as well as local “outbreaks” of suicide.
And one more thing. In 45 plus years of our own study in Emergency Medicine 90% of all suicide victims complete suicide by gun. They KILL themselves.
Only 2% die by overdose of pills.
Our children do not understand mortality.
Did you even BOTHER to read the column?
Time and time again you ignore ALL facts.
1) Switzerland no longer allowed its citizen-soldiers to take their guns home at night. The rate of suicides DROPPED 60%.
2) A person who lives in a home with a gun has a SEVEN times grater chance of dying by a gun that those who live in homes without guns.
3) We had horrific bullying WELL BEFORE “smart phones.”
4) We doctors in emergency medicine have rallied to show that “one person car collisions (running into a concrete barrier)” are suicides after there has been an investigation. All those “cars ‘stuck or stalled’ on railroad tracks” were suicides. Pulling out in front of large trucks, speeding cars...investigation found suicide.
We doctors want to STUDY this epidemic. But the NRA and folks such as you are so frightened of the “government having a data base of guns” that the NRA refuses to allow intervention by the CDC!
CC, if some nutcase congress REFUSED to allow the CDC to study ebola, dengue fever, avian flu, and hemorrhagic diseases because SATAN CAUSED THESE DISEASES I would hope you would say “NO! Let the CDC study this!”
This is an epidemic across the USA. As scientists we want to study the epidemic as well as local “outbreaks” of suicide.
And one more thing. In 45 plus years of our own study in Emergency Medicine 90% of all suicide victims complete suicide by gun. They KILL themselves.
Only 2% die by overdose of pills.
Our children do not understand mortality.
15
This column helps to keep meaningful conversations about suicide happening, which is critical. I have lost friends to suicide, all by gun, and had many other friends attempt suicide (and all lived, typically the attempt involved pills).
I know that isolation is a huge problem for many people, and the cure is conceptually simple—more places for people to work and spend time together in pleasurable ways: coffeehouses, churches, meet-up groups. Older forms of socializing also work, from pot lucks and sewing circles to sing-along events and social dances (all of which can feel corny but after which you often have a smile on your face). Social cohesion and group bonding take work, and these days the phone-based socializing seems to keep us from the (at this point still) richer face-to-face connections.
It's also true that there's plenty to feel horrible about today, including the kinds of news we all seem to wake up to endlessly. Work fears and worries about the future are also real reasons to worry. It often feels as though it is a hard time to be alive in many ways.
Thanks again for the column, which I hope helps others to work towards more supportive lives for all.
I know that isolation is a huge problem for many people, and the cure is conceptually simple—more places for people to work and spend time together in pleasurable ways: coffeehouses, churches, meet-up groups. Older forms of socializing also work, from pot lucks and sewing circles to sing-along events and social dances (all of which can feel corny but after which you often have a smile on your face). Social cohesion and group bonding take work, and these days the phone-based socializing seems to keep us from the (at this point still) richer face-to-face connections.
It's also true that there's plenty to feel horrible about today, including the kinds of news we all seem to wake up to endlessly. Work fears and worries about the future are also real reasons to worry. It often feels as though it is a hard time to be alive in many ways.
Thanks again for the column, which I hope helps others to work towards more supportive lives for all.
12
Matt - I think your opening sentence says it all. Many suicides occur without giving a lot, if any, signs of hurting and contemplating harming themselves. That said, many parents are completely shocked and at a loss if their child attempts suicide, and forever devastated if the act is completed successfully. I also think parents need to walk a fine line when discussing the topic with their kids - making them aware vs. not wanting to inadvertently plant any ideas in their heads. I think a lot of it comes down to honest, open and supportive conversation between both parties. If kids know they have a parent, a counselor, a teacher, any supportive person who they can vent and trust vs. social media options about what is terrifying or bothering them, then perhaps even one kid has a chance of surviving that dark, lonely and desperate period in their life.
4
You know, that's really sweet Matt, that you even think that a TEENAGER in 2017 will go along with grandma to church on Sunday! or to a potluck dinner or a SEWING CIRCLE. You seriously think teenage girls today sew? and want to attend a SEWING CIRCLE? a sing-a-long? when they could be on exciting social media 24/7?
If I could even drag my granddaughter, 13 going on 14, to a church pot luck dinner or sewing circle, she would be checking her phone every 3 seconds while frantically texting her friends about how her mean old Nana FORCED her to do something boring and awful and weird.
At 13 or 14, one of the more exciting things we used to do (in the Jurassic era where I grew up) was attend school or church dances, on Friday and Saturday nights -- chaperoned natch -- only refreshment was fruit punch in paper cups -- dancing to the latest Beatles music. I cannot in my wildest dreams imagine my grandkids (or heck, my kids at that age) doing anything so lame and uncool.
This is an acutely awful time to be a teenager, because of social media. Aside from keeping kids alone, and indoors -- it creates paranoia about "who likes you?" literally every second of the day and a huge pressure to ACT like you are having phone in staged "selfies" rather than actually HAVING the kinds of fun where you FORGET about yourself and just experience the moment.
If I could even drag my granddaughter, 13 going on 14, to a church pot luck dinner or sewing circle, she would be checking her phone every 3 seconds while frantically texting her friends about how her mean old Nana FORCED her to do something boring and awful and weird.
At 13 or 14, one of the more exciting things we used to do (in the Jurassic era where I grew up) was attend school or church dances, on Friday and Saturday nights -- chaperoned natch -- only refreshment was fruit punch in paper cups -- dancing to the latest Beatles music. I cannot in my wildest dreams imagine my grandkids (or heck, my kids at that age) doing anything so lame and uncool.
This is an acutely awful time to be a teenager, because of social media. Aside from keeping kids alone, and indoors -- it creates paranoia about "who likes you?" literally every second of the day and a huge pressure to ACT like you are having phone in staged "selfies" rather than actually HAVING the kinds of fun where you FORGET about yourself and just experience the moment.
2
If we believe the statistics, then 1 in 5 young people are suffering from a mental illness and more than half of those children and young adults are not receiving the care they need to get better. Mental illness amongst the children in America is rapidly becoming an epidemic and our government, insurance industry, health care and education systems have all but abandoned them. Funding for research on mental illness, and especially the causes and prevention of suicide, are inversely related to their prevalence. There are not enough experienced child psychiatrists and psychiatric hospitals to care for our children in need. Many families are financially unable to pay the high cost of hospital stays, weekly therapy sessions and medications. Our society can no longer afford to neglect our children. Our government must increase its funding for brain based research - the treatment and cure of millions of Americans is at stake.
7
Ingrid, while I take mental illness with the utmost seriousness -- and while I have the greatest compassion for sufferers -- it is simply impossible statistically that 20% of the entire population has mental illness. It is just not credible, and that's one of the first things we probably ought to address.
Today, it is claimed that 20% of young boys (and maybe 10% of young girls!) are ADD or ADHD, which is also impossible statistically and a fraud. This is done to put any child who is difficult, antsy or distracted on a HEAVY DRUG REGIMEN, to make them passive and malleable. To be put on SPEED as young as 8 or 10 years old is absolutely devastating. It changes the brains of children in ways we barely understand. Some of these children go on to harder drugs.
Even worse, some of this is done to "game the system" in complex ways -- declaring your children "ADD or ADHD" can give poor families a stream of income from SSI, which is corrosively addictive (what parents would permit the child to get better, knowing the income will be lost?) -- for wealthier parents, a diagnosis gives the child extra help in school and extra time on tests. a huge advantage in the competitive race for colleges.
Only a very troubled, corrupt society would label innocent children with diseases, to benefit adults.
Today, it is claimed that 20% of young boys (and maybe 10% of young girls!) are ADD or ADHD, which is also impossible statistically and a fraud. This is done to put any child who is difficult, antsy or distracted on a HEAVY DRUG REGIMEN, to make them passive and malleable. To be put on SPEED as young as 8 or 10 years old is absolutely devastating. It changes the brains of children in ways we barely understand. Some of these children go on to harder drugs.
Even worse, some of this is done to "game the system" in complex ways -- declaring your children "ADD or ADHD" can give poor families a stream of income from SSI, which is corrosively addictive (what parents would permit the child to get better, knowing the income will be lost?) -- for wealthier parents, a diagnosis gives the child extra help in school and extra time on tests. a huge advantage in the competitive race for colleges.
Only a very troubled, corrupt society would label innocent children with diseases, to benefit adults.
2
ADHD is treated with psychostimulants. If a person does not actually have it, those medications do the literal opposite of making them "passive and malleable." The effects of all the excess dopamine are akin to signs of cocaine use. Child or adult, the person will become overly talkative, fidgety, and easily distracted. They often "lose" hours of time without getting any work done, fixating instead on menial tasks like cleaning and organizing.
For people who do have ADHD, those same medications correct a chemical imbalance, making them more collected, able to think clearly, and better at prioritizing important tasks and remembering things like verbal instructions, appointments, and directions.
As for SSI – it's very, very hard to pull off what you're describing. You can't go sign up for SSI like food stamps. A family has to produce sufficient evidence to prove that their child not only has ADHD, but that it's an unusually severe case. The child's medical records are thoroughly examined, and cases almost always hinge on an evaluation performed by a doctor that who is selected and paid by the Social Security Administration – meaning any bias on their part would skew towards rejecting the claim. All cases are reviewed every 1-3 years to verify that treatment is still being received, and that medical records indicate there is no substantial change in the condition. That's a lot of effort to put into a scam that nets about $400 a month.
For people who do have ADHD, those same medications correct a chemical imbalance, making them more collected, able to think clearly, and better at prioritizing important tasks and remembering things like verbal instructions, appointments, and directions.
As for SSI – it's very, very hard to pull off what you're describing. You can't go sign up for SSI like food stamps. A family has to produce sufficient evidence to prove that their child not only has ADHD, but that it's an unusually severe case. The child's medical records are thoroughly examined, and cases almost always hinge on an evaluation performed by a doctor that who is selected and paid by the Social Security Administration – meaning any bias on their part would skew towards rejecting the claim. All cases are reviewed every 1-3 years to verify that treatment is still being received, and that medical records indicate there is no substantial change in the condition. That's a lot of effort to put into a scam that nets about $400 a month.
9
There will always be unique individual reasons, but so many exogenous factors come to mind. 24-hour connectivity. Social media platforms that run nonstop highlight reels of peers' wonderful lives. Utter detachment from nature. Culture of worshiping "achievement". Technology outstripping the average person's competency for the most lucrative jobs. The list goes on. Any solution that doesn't account for the bigger picture will fall short.
10
I know about 10 people who have taken their lives. All of them I envied until I read their obituary. They had relationships, children, caring and concerned family members, significant financial security (3 were millionaires). Suicide is extremely complex (there are no simple remedies). One friend asked me to join her in a suicide pact (She succeeded on her own, without my help). My heart goes out to anyone (and their family and friends) who has these demons.
9
You don't need evidence to reduce the suicide rates. Simply make it illegal for media creators to make or distribute shows, games and books whose soul purpose is to introduce and promote suicide to children and then continue to promote it through the remaining age demographics all the way to natural death.
3
I am sure the sanctimonious producers of "13 Reasons Why" and other similar shows, think they are doing something to PREVENT suicide -- I am sure the shows have the usual information after each episode, solemnly telling depressed kids to "get help from an adult" and "here is the number of the suicide prevention hot line".
A great start would be making sure that they interact with real people in person rather than all this fake stuff. Next would be for major news organizations to publish real news rather than running around shrieking that the sky is falling because they don't like someone's opinions. And focus on success stories about the future rather than rehashing past history that cannot be changed.
3
Absolutely. And this is what I have observed from having grandchildren who are millennial teenagers today.
They do little or nothing out of doors. ALL their activities are "indoors". They must be the most indoorsy generation in history. No camping -- no playing outside (its always too hot or too cold) -- no Boy or Girl Scouting. No clubs or after school activities.
No home ec. No shop class. No sewing or crafts. They only read just enough to do required schoolwork -- NO reading for pleasure, whatsoever. (Why bother? as my granddaughter told me "Nana, everything has been made into movie, so why read?"). Cable TV with 300 channels, plus streaming video, and you can watch on your phone.
When friends come over, they sit next to each other INDOORS, with TV on, but they are both absorbed IN THEIR PHONES and not talking to EACH other. (If they need to communicate, they will text a friend who is literally sitting next to them.)
In summer, they do NO swimming (though they have a pool a few blocks away) and never go to the local park. Don't ride bikes or go exploring (it's a very small, safe little village). Don't build stuff. Don't have any chores around the house. Do not baby sit for younger children. No pick up games of baseball or basketball. In winter, they do not go ice skating or sledding. It's a rural area, but they do not belong to 4-H clubs.
What DO they do? They sit for hours playing video games, or on their phones, or BOTH. That's what.
They do little or nothing out of doors. ALL their activities are "indoors". They must be the most indoorsy generation in history. No camping -- no playing outside (its always too hot or too cold) -- no Boy or Girl Scouting. No clubs or after school activities.
No home ec. No shop class. No sewing or crafts. They only read just enough to do required schoolwork -- NO reading for pleasure, whatsoever. (Why bother? as my granddaughter told me "Nana, everything has been made into movie, so why read?"). Cable TV with 300 channels, plus streaming video, and you can watch on your phone.
When friends come over, they sit next to each other INDOORS, with TV on, but they are both absorbed IN THEIR PHONES and not talking to EACH other. (If they need to communicate, they will text a friend who is literally sitting next to them.)
In summer, they do NO swimming (though they have a pool a few blocks away) and never go to the local park. Don't ride bikes or go exploring (it's a very small, safe little village). Don't build stuff. Don't have any chores around the house. Do not baby sit for younger children. No pick up games of baseball or basketball. In winter, they do not go ice skating or sledding. It's a rural area, but they do not belong to 4-H clubs.
What DO they do? They sit for hours playing video games, or on their phones, or BOTH. That's what.
3
Who, demographically, is committing suicide? What cultural predicates are involved? Some white males in a certain age range have begun to die a higher than historic rates from excessive consumption of opiates and no one is suggesting that hedge fund managers are strongly represented among them. A target age distribution is not nearly enough to get a handle on possible remedies. Please be more specific.
4
A future to look forward to that one could actually be successful in, without never ending hoops to jump through just to survive, would be a good start.
7
I thought 13 reasons why highlighted a few of tropes having to do with suicide. We believe that we can stop people from committing suicide. If those 13 reasons hadn't happened to Hannah she would not have killed herself. If there wasn't a gun in the house my father might still be alive today. Yet, as a "survivor" of suicide, the friends and family left behind, we are told that there was "nothing" we could do. That we shouldn't feel guilty. And this is true to an extent. Not all rape victims kill themselves. Not all people with guns kill themselves. Not all people with depression kill themselves. And, when you've supported the person through mental illness, as my mother did with my father for over 50 years, are you to blame when you leave the house for an hour and at 80 yrs old he shoots himself with a gun you didn't know he had? The first thing my mother and I felt when my father committed suicide is that he hated us, that he was punishing us, that he wanted to make us suffer a sort of "I'll show them." This is what Hannah does by recording her tapes. There is a reason why (13 of them) and there are people who are responsible for those reasons. Albert Camus said, "There is but one truly serious philosophical problem and that is suicide." A topic that remains illusive.
3
As a teenager this article was eye opening. I've never had suicidal thoughts but I know people who have. There's motives to suicidal thoughts and actions that need to be prevented from the source. Making people more aware of depression, PTSD, anxiety, and mental health in general could help to prevent this.
18
In our winner-take-all system there are no second chances and your life is set in stone at a very early age. The solutions Carroll offers will do nothing to fix this problem. When young people who have encountered a setback or two don't see any reason to bother trying at all, because any effort would be a waste, who can blame them for taking their own lives?
Fixing this problem would mean that the advantages of being born well off would have to become less advantageous, so don't expect anything to change. Indeed, the more advantageous it will become to be born better off, the worse this problem will get.
But nothing will be done to fix it because none of you actually care.
Fixing this problem would mean that the advantages of being born well off would have to become less advantageous, so don't expect anything to change. Indeed, the more advantageous it will become to be born better off, the worse this problem will get.
But nothing will be done to fix it because none of you actually care.
3
Please consider therapy for your evident depression. I know that you may not believe you are depressed, it is such a liar and sneaks up on you that I didn't know I was when I was depressed. I even scored 25 on the Beck Inventory and still didn't believe it because I had atypical symptoms and could get out of bed and function. Life can be better, but you will need help.
1
Your words indicate that YOU are very depressed. I hope you get help for this. Young people have a long future ahead of them, and minor setbacks in HIGH SCHOOL will seem very trivial when you are an adult -- things like "are you popular enough" or "who you date" -- you will laugh about them in a few years.
While I don't like to talk about "blaming" depressed young people, it is absurd to suggest that it is OK to see "no reason for even trying" due to minor discouragements or because other people seem to be having more (fake) fun on social media.
And PUL-EEZ! you talk as if being rich makes all problems go away. I assure you there is as much or more mental illness, depression & teen suicide among the richest young people as among the poorest.
To think that problems of depression and suicidal ideation can be SOLVED with material goods -- THINGS -- fancy clothes, new cars, vacations -- is the mindset of a very immature individual. If you are depressed, you are incapable of experiencing pleasure & joy -- THAT is the problem -- so all the material goods in the world will NOT cheer you up.
I assure that you will not see that kind of obsessive materialism among (say) the street beggars of Calcutta, who truly have nothing -- while you are whinging here (as you clearly have a computer or smartphone, plus high speed internet, plus a subscription to the NYT) that you are NOT a street beggar in Calcutta, but a affluent citizen of one of the richest nations on earth!
While I don't like to talk about "blaming" depressed young people, it is absurd to suggest that it is OK to see "no reason for even trying" due to minor discouragements or because other people seem to be having more (fake) fun on social media.
And PUL-EEZ! you talk as if being rich makes all problems go away. I assure you there is as much or more mental illness, depression & teen suicide among the richest young people as among the poorest.
To think that problems of depression and suicidal ideation can be SOLVED with material goods -- THINGS -- fancy clothes, new cars, vacations -- is the mindset of a very immature individual. If you are depressed, you are incapable of experiencing pleasure & joy -- THAT is the problem -- so all the material goods in the world will NOT cheer you up.
I assure that you will not see that kind of obsessive materialism among (say) the street beggars of Calcutta, who truly have nothing -- while you are whinging here (as you clearly have a computer or smartphone, plus high speed internet, plus a subscription to the NYT) that you are NOT a street beggar in Calcutta, but a affluent citizen of one of the richest nations on earth!
Somehow along the way, suicide prevention has become all about IDing risk factors and ensuring safety. But that's as downstream as you can get. We need, instead, to recognize and address the underlying distress and also remediate the circumstances which contribute to distress.
Thomas Joiner at Florida State University has developed a robust Interpersonal Theory of Suicide which states that thwarted belongingness (ostracism, isolation, bullying, family fractures, etc) and perceived burdensomeness (feeling hopeless, purposeless, jobless, homeless, impoverished, etc) are the drivers behind suicidal feeling, and the acquired capacity to hurt oneself is what leads people to act when the drivers become intolerable. Joiner has published several books which are written in lay language: The Myths of Suicide and Why People Die By Suicide are two primers that are beneficial reads.
If we make sure to include others, respect others, be tolerant of others, support others and trust in others - in other words - conduct ourselves in a civil society - we will remove the circumstances which result in so much unbearable psychological distress. That will lower suicide rates.
Thomas Joiner at Florida State University has developed a robust Interpersonal Theory of Suicide which states that thwarted belongingness (ostracism, isolation, bullying, family fractures, etc) and perceived burdensomeness (feeling hopeless, purposeless, jobless, homeless, impoverished, etc) are the drivers behind suicidal feeling, and the acquired capacity to hurt oneself is what leads people to act when the drivers become intolerable. Joiner has published several books which are written in lay language: The Myths of Suicide and Why People Die By Suicide are two primers that are beneficial reads.
If we make sure to include others, respect others, be tolerant of others, support others and trust in others - in other words - conduct ourselves in a civil society - we will remove the circumstances which result in so much unbearable psychological distress. That will lower suicide rates.
19
Bullying should be described more as Crime. Bullying=Crime. There are also many other things described in AEK's comment that qualify as crime. Personally, I intentionally use the word: crime, instead of the word: bullying. --- It is sad, but I am not sure when Law Enforcement will improve.
2
How about the world they see around them ? - the hate, greed, inequality, intolerance? Not very encouraging. It looks bleak to us older adults, think what it does to a young mind that lacks the experience to ride out the storms of ignorance and abuse. The world has become a difficult place to understand. I thought it was tough being a kid in the violent and uncertain 60's. That was a walk in the park in comparison. - TC
38
We need to eradicate the stigma of mental health in all cultures. Anxiety, depression and sucidiality has a genetic predisposition that often unfolds in the best of environments. When societal stigma, lack of education, and familial shame impede a teen's awareness that they are experiencing an emerging mental health condition, this not only markedly increases the risk for suicidality, but also adds a layer of trauma. Rather than getting the help they need, teen mental health needs are perceived as laziness, defiance, attention-seeking, and drama.
Of course, we also need affordable and readily accessible mental health services. Schools need to more school counselors who educate students, families and other educators about mental health, and are first responders in preventing suicide and getting students connected with treatment. Further, adequate, accessible and affordable mental health care simply does not exist, and needs to be a critical priority in this epidemic.
Of course, we also need affordable and readily accessible mental health services. Schools need to more school counselors who educate students, families and other educators about mental health, and are first responders in preventing suicide and getting students connected with treatment. Further, adequate, accessible and affordable mental health care simply does not exist, and needs to be a critical priority in this epidemic.
18
This is very true, we desperately need more mental health professionals, particularly ones for teens and kids.
3
I agree that there needs to be more opportunities for young people to assemble in larger than groups of two, and just hang out. The number is significant: two is intimate and can involve development of a personal bond, but five requires sharing and making cooperative choices. I would like to see kids have hours a day of time on their own, even if society and technology has stolen this opportunity. It needs to be recaptured and exploited for all its worth. I loved having friends. It mattered a whole lot.
14
Making sure everyone has their Individual Human Rights (the basics) would go a long way in prevention.
8
What does that even mean, Kim? I'd guess that privileged children in the industrialized west kill themselves more often than (say) poor children in some rural village in India, who have virtually no material goods.
"We need to make sure young people have no access to guns. And we need to make sure they are connected enough to each other, to family, and to the health care system so that those at risk can be recognized and given the care they need."
We need to make sure young people feel loved, are loved, are important in our lives & feel needed. They need to feel safe & protected from situations in which they have been harmed or violated. Sometimes the most obvious reasons for their cries for help are overlooked or ignored.
My niece was 25 when she killed herself from hanging. Her first attempt was when she was 10. Her parents tried every thing imaginable to help yet were unsuccessful in the end. She suffered from deep depression and was convinced her only relief would come from death.
I was 23 when I almost succeeded in my suicide attempt. If it were not by a stroke of random luck on the part of a professor, I would not be here today. I too felt completely alone, isolated, unloved and betrayed. I truly felt death was a relief from the intense pain I was feeling. My plan was not a spur of the moment decision. I planned everything out. In the end, I was lucky. I was found w/in a 30 minute window for survival.
What I dislike about these articles is the clinical & detached tone of the message. I realize the title, 'What the Evidence Shows" should be a clue as to its contents, but often the humanity aspect gets lost in the message. Stats are useful to a point.
33
I think it influences suggestible teenagers when someone who has a life much like theirs or someone who has a (seemingly) better life dies of suicide or overdose. They see no hope for themselves in the first instance, and pursue their admiration of another to death in the second instance. That most people don’t respond that way seems to make little impact, because young people can convince themselves that their thoughts and the thoughts of a stranger are the same.
6
Prozac saved my teen's life. Why doesn't the article address the "black box" label and how it has deterred physicians and parents from suggesting anti-depressants?
18