An Epidemic Of Teenage Suicide And Depression

Mental health has always been an issue in teens. Although, as more research is being done, it has been found that the suicide and depression rates in adolescents are steadily rising. There are many different things that could be causing this rise. Is social media becoming a bigger problem? Is parenting becoming an issue? Are teens nowadays too sensitive? Are the worries of popularity and pleasing everyone becoming too much? This is an issue that will never go away, but there are precautions that can be taken to try to slow down this unfortunate epidemic.

Background

There are many statistics that have come out of the research of adolescent depression. Joe Sugarman (2017) states in the article, “The Rise of Depression.' that in the past decade, clinical depression and anxiety among adolescents ages twelve to seventeen have gone up dramatically. There are many factors that could link to this raise. The society that my age is growing up in is based on followers on Instagram, or how many likes we get on our Senior Sunday posts, or how many retweets we get on pointless Tweets. Our age group is also growing up in an age where feeling like you don’t belong somewhere is a huge problem. People are so self-conscious about their sexuality, body, grades, or friends. A lot of people feel like they aren’t accepted in today’s society. There are a lot of adolescents that know that they have a mental condition, or feel like there’s something wrong with them, but they are scared to get help, or admit it to their parents in the fear of getting negative attention. For example, a teenage might be struggling from suicidal thoughts, but they won’t tell their parents or friends because they’re scared that their family or friend will think they’re saying it for attention, or they won’t be taken seriously. According to Mary Ellen Flannery (2018) in the article, “As Teen Suicide Rate Increases, States Look to Schools to Address Crisis”, untreated mental health conditions are among the leading causes of suicide. This is also because teenagers feel like if they are in poor mental health, they deserve to die anyway. They feel that if they go in for help, they’ll get medications and other forms of treatment, but these medications and treatments might make them feel like an outcast, which would heighten their suicidal thoughts. On the report of Scottye J. Cash, Ph.D and Jeffrey A. Bridge, Ph.D (2019), in the article “Epidemiology of Youth Suicide and Suicidal Behavior”, suicide is the third leading cause of death among teenagers and adolescents in the United States. Jayne O’Donnell and Anne Saker (2018) also state in the article “Teen Suicide is Soaring” that the suicide rate for white adolescents between ages ten and seventeen was up seventy percent between 2006 and 2016. A study of pediatric hospitals that was released last May found that admissions of patients ages five to seventeen for suicidal thoughts and actions more than doubled between 2008 and 2015. According to “Teen Depression and Suicide: A Silent Crisis”, written by Maureen and Kayla Kroning (2016), there are reports that 157,000 people ages ten to fourteen were seen in emergency departments for self-inflicted injuries. It also states that three out of ten high school students expressed feeling sad or hopeless every day for two weeks. There are speculations that the rise in teenage suicide and depression will only continue to rise in the future.

Causes

1. Social Media

Trying to fit in with the proper “aesthetic” on Instagram, or trying to look like the Instagram models with perfect swimsuit bodies, or the body builders with perfectly defined muscles is a huge challenge for teens in today’s society. Sugarman (2017) says that teens feel pressure to portray an idealized version of themselves on social media sites. This is referred to as “Facebook Depression”. He also talks about how social media has given a rise to cyberbullying. Cyberbullying has been implicated in several cases of teen suicide in the past few years. In today’s society, nearly 80% of teenagers have cell phones. According to Sugarman (2017), therapists state that the most significant impact on their clients that they have witnessed in the last decade is the arrival of social media. Cash and Bridge (2019) talk about how the internet can be both detrimental and helpful in suicidal situations. In the article, “Teen Suicide is Soaring”, by Jane O’Donnell and Anne Saker on USA Today (2018), they talk about how teens aren’t interacting face to face, so there’s less of a connection. It’s hard to know what to say when someone posts something about wanting to die. Teens will see a post about suicidal ideation and sometimes pass it off as dark or relatable humor. Teens regularly post about hating their lives and wanting to kill themselves, it has almost turned into a competition into who is the most depressed. Not only do the posts of Instagram models make teens feel bad about themselves, they see posts of their friends out doing something without them, or their ex-significant other with a new person, and it really just messes with teenagers mentally. On one hand, social media provides a place to vent and get advice, but on the other hand, if everyone is commiserating over everyone, is it really helpful?

1. Stress

Stress plays a huge factor in teen mental health. Stress from family, school, friends, social media, and many other sources. Flannery (2018) interviewed Kathy Reamy, school counselor at La Plata High School in Southern Maryland and chair of the NEA School Counselor Caucus. Reamy states, “Honestly, I’ve had more students this year hospitalized for anxiety, depression, and other mental-health issues than ever. There’s just so much going on in this day and age, the pressure to fit in, the pressure to achieve, the pressure of social media… it all makes it so much harder to be a teenager.” Flannery (2018) also says that experts cite a number of reasons are susceptible [to increasing suicide rates]. Cash and Bridge (2019) talk about how some examples are bullying, academic pressure, family problems, and social media are all risk factors. Family factors include parental psychopathology, family history of suicide, family discord, loss of parent, poor parent-child relationship, and maltreatment are all associated with an increased rate of adolescent suicide and depression. Kroning (2016) includes that women are at higher risk for suicide, possibly because of the heightened response to daily stressors (emotional sensitivity). Although women are at higher risk for suicide, they choose less lethal methods, so their success rate for suicide isn’t as high as males.

1. Grief/Medical Condition

O’Donnell/Saker (2018) claim that for teenagers, sometimes life is just so traumatic that suicide just seems like the best option. They state that, “Our students are dying because they are not equipped to handle situations created by adults…”. Kroning (2016) explained that sometimes a teens life could be picture-perfect, but the neurotransmitters in the teens brain could be imbalanced, which can cause psychosocial issues. Many chemicals are involved in this process, it is not just one chemical being too low and another too high. Instead, it’s many chemicals involved, working both inside and outside nerve cells. There are billions of chemical reactions that make up the nervous system. These chemicals are responsible for your mood, perceptions, and how you experience life.

Signs and Symptoms

Depression has many external factors, but they can often be confused with regular sadness, or teenage moodiness, but that isn’t the case at all. It is often hard to depict between teens making dumb decisions because they’re young, or teens making dumb decisions because they are impulsive and reckless and don’t care if they die. Tracy A. Dennis-Tiwary, Ph.D. (2018) reported in the article, “Teen Suicide: How to Understand and Reduce Risk”, from Psychology Today, that there are many warning signs for suicidal and depressed teens. One of these warning signs is hopelessness. The teens feel like their life won’t get any better, and it will just keep getting worse. Or they feel like it is hopeless for anybody to ever love them, or it’s hopeless that they will ever feel accepted. There are so many things for teens to feel hopeless about. Another warning sign is suicidal ideation. Sometimes teens will say things along the lines of wanting to kill themselves, or not caring if they die. Most people just take it as a joke, but suicide should not be taken as a joke. Failing an English test is not an excuse to say you want to die. Impulsive behavior is also another symptom. This is where the line between “normal teen behavior” and depression comes into play. Are the impulsive decisions putting themselves in danger? Are the impulsive decisions a rapid occurrence? There’s a fine line between being adventurous and having a death wish. Along with all those, there is also disconnection. Do you notice your teen isn’t very social? Would they rather go out or lay in bed all day? Do they eat too little or too much? Do they talk to themselves? These are all signs of disconnectivity. An introverted teenager can often be mistaken for disconnected, but if a person was once a social butterfly and now wants to do nothing but lay in bed, there’s a problem. Dennis-Tiwary, Ph.D. (2018) went into detail about “normal teen stuff”. While storms of stress in adolescents can be expected, we need to pay close attention to whether your teen is showing changes. More irritability, sadness and depression, a strong sense of failure, major conflict with family or peers, major loss of loved one, or an humiliating experience can all be signs and risk factors that show the difference between “normal teen stuff” and clinical depression.

Solutions

1. Antidepressants

There are many different kinds of antidepressants, but they affect some people different than others. Katie Hurley says in “Teens and Depression” (2018) on PSYCOM, that there are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are antidepressant medications that can be beneficial to adolescents diagnosed with major depressive disorders. According to Nancy Schimelpfening in the article “An overview of the Treatments for Depression” (2018), most antidepressants are generally safe, but the FDA requires that all antidepressants carry a black box warning. A black box warning calls attention to the fact that children, teen, and young adults under 25 might have increase in suicidal thoughts or behavior. If your antidepressant isn’t reacting with you well and causing your thoughts or feelings to get worse, the first solution is to talk to your doctor. Sometimes antidepressants aren’t for everyone, but there are other solutions that aren’t medications.

1. Psychotherapy

One of the most helpful strategies is to talk. Katie Hurley, in the article, “Teens and Depression” (2018), claims that group therapy can be effective for teens. Through group work, teens connect with other teens that share and understand their struggles and provides support networks beyond family and close friends. Psychotherapy, also known as “talking therapy” or cognitive behavioral therapy are often good initial treatments for mild to moderate are cases of depression. Dennis-Tiwary, Ph.D. (2018) says that talking can allow teens to express their feelings. When listening to teens, listen with interest, patience, and understanding safety and support.

1. Natural Solutions

If you feel as though psychotherapy and/or antidepressants aren’t helping you, there are some natural solutions that can help. Kroning (2016) expresses how sad it is that it’s common for someone to go unnoticed. Teen depression continues to be a quiet crisis in schools. To intervene, we need to raise awareness of the problem. In the article, “Facts, Symptoms, and Causes of Teen Depression”, Barbara Poncelet states how negative thinking patterns and behaviors can be replaced with effective coping strategies. Reading, writing, coloring, exercising, board games, puzzles, are all effective coping mechanisms. Hurley says that social isolation needs to be confronted. Socialization and connectedness is encouraged. It is also stated that exercise plays a vital role in improving mental health. Nutrition is also a benefit. Healthy, balanced diets help combat fatigue and feed the brain. Sleep is also essential to be healthy. Insufficient sleep exacerbates symptoms of depression. Teens need 9-10 hours of sleep a night. These are all many different ways to help depression. There isn’t a cure for it, but there are ways to be able to go on with your everyday life without having depression as your priority. There are things that can ice the problem, and make it bearable.

Opinion

Adolescent mental health is a huge struggle in today’s society, and often goes unnoticed. For a difference to occur, people need to acknowledge the severity of teen depression and the significant risks of suicide Teens need attention to make them feel values, accepted and secure in the knowledge that people are there to help them. Teens taking their life is a tragedy.

I think there needs to be more support in schools for mental health. Daily check-ins wouldn’t be a bad thing. If someone asks a teen how they are today, or how they are feeling, that makes them feel valued. Whereas if they feel like they need to reach out for help, they might feel like a burden. I think parents need to be educated on this topic. Often, when a teenager commits suicide, the parents had no idea that the teen was struggling. Awareness is the biggest problem, in my opinion. People often take mental health as a joke, but with teens mental health worldwide, rapidly deteriorating, I think the last thing people should be joking about is this mental health epidemic.

References

Cash, S. J., Ph.D., & Bridge, J. A., Ph.D. (2010, October 1). Epidemiology of Youth Suicide and Suicidal Behavior. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2885157/

Cherry, K., & Gans, S. (2018, November). How Mental Health Professionals Use the DSM. Retrieved from https://www.verywellmind.com/the-diagnostic-and-statistical-manual-dsm-2795758

Desrochers, J. E., & Houck, G. (2014). Depression in children and adolescents: Guidelines for school practice. Silver Spring, MD: National Association of School Nurses.

Do you know the signs your teen is at risk of suicide? (2019, February 06). Retrieved from https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/tween-and-teen-health/in-depth/teen-suicide/art-20044308

Flannery, M. E. (2018, June 06). As Teen Suicide Rate Increases, States Look to Schools to Address Crisis. Retrieved from http://neatoday.org/2018/05/14/teen-suicide-prevention/

Hurley, K., LCSW. (2018, June 8). Teen Depression and Suicide Risk Factors. Retrieved from https://www.psycom.net/teen-suicide-risk-factors

Hurley, K., LCSW. (2018, November 25). Is Social Media Affecting Your Teens' Mental Health? Retrieved from https://www.psycom.net/depression-teens-social-media

Hurley, K., LCSW. (2018, November 25). Teen Depression: The Pros and Cons of Medication. Retrieved from https://www.psycom.net/depression.central.teens.medication.html

O'Donnell, J., & Saker, A. (2018, March 20). Teen suicide is soaring. Do spotty mental health and addiction treatment share blame? Retrieved from https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/03/19/teen-suicide-soaring-do-spotty-mental-health-and-addiction-treatment-share-blame/428148002/

Poncelet, B., & Fogoros, R. N. (2018, June 29). Facts, Symptoms, and Causes of Teen Depression. Retrieved from https://www.verywellmind.com/teen-depression-3200844

Recognizing teen depression: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia. (2018, May). Retrieved from https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000648.htm

Schimelpfening, N. (2018, August 16). Do You Know About All the Treatment Options for Depression? Retrieved from https://www.verywellmind.com/treatments-for-depression-1065502

Sugarman, J. (2017, Fall). The Rise of Depression. Retrieved January, 2019, from https://www.johnshopkinshealthreview.com/issues/fall-winter-2017/articles/the-rise-of-teen-depression

Teen Depression and Suicide: A Silent Crisis : Journal of Christian Nursing. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://journals.lww.com/journalofchristiannursing/Pages/articleviewer.aspx?year=2016&issue=04000&article=00009&type=Fulltext

Turner, E. (n.d.). Understanding Teen Suicide: Tips for Prevention. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-race-good-health/201306/understanding-teen-suicide-tips-prevention

Winch, G., Ph.D. (2015, October 02). The Important Difference Between Sadness and Depression. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-squeaky-wheel/201510/the-important-difference-between-sadness-and-depression