Suicide is not an option

Eight students in Bristol have committed suicide over the last 18 months, leaving little doubt that there's a suicide epidemic affecting the English city. Officially, there is no link between these tragic deaths – at least as far as the police is concerned. However, the situation in Bristol falls under the term contagion and, despite spending more than $1 million on mental health programs, the local authorities were unable to stop the spread of the “suicide plague”.

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All over the world, suicide rates among young people are on the rise.

• In the United States, for instance, suicide rate for girls aged 15-19 doubled between 2007-2015. For boys in the same age group the figures rose by 30% over the said period.
• Suicide is the second leading cause of death for the 10-24 age group. More young people die by suicide than from cancer, HIV, heart or lung conditions and influenza combined.
• One of the most interesting facts in the study is that four out five young people who make a suicide attempt show some warning signs.
• People need to learn what are these warning signs and what to do in case they suspect a troubled youth might be harboring self-harm ideas.

Alarm bells:

• Posting troubling words concerning death, suicide and other dark ideas on social media.
• Writing essays on such topics as a home assignment.
• Looking up methods of committing suicide and/or gathering stuff that might be used for such purpose.
• Making unexplained visits that look suspiciously like saying goodbye.
• Giving away prized possessions as if they wouldn't be needed anymore.
• Appearing suddenly calm and happy when a person has been known to be battling depression for some time.

Whatever worrying sign you might be detecting in someone you're close to, the first thing to do is to SAY SOMETHING.
Many people believe that starting a conversation about suicide might just put this idea in somebody's mind, but experts say it's a myth, and a very dangerous one. It's not like someone suffering from depression, anxiety, stress or a bad break-up could not come up with the idea of suicide on their own. If their behavior is in anyway worrying, chances are they are already considering ending their lives. You need to speak up, even if it turns out you are overreacting and there's no real cause for concern.
Offer any kind of help you can give – from listening to their problems to making something nice for them. Create a quiet support group for the person in need and make sure they never feel alone – offer to go to the movies or for a walk, bake them cookies, whatever it takes to change their mood.
The most important is to stress the fact you are there for them.
Obviously, suggest professional help and volunteer to go with them to the doctor's.

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Another dangerous misconception is that people who talk openly about suicide aren't seriously thinking about doing such a thing. Suicide threats are not to be ignored, ever. It could happen that the person talking about death simply enjoys the attention they're getting, the underlying problem is that they probably need this attention. It's just a cry for help, as many suicide attempts are. Until they can get some professional help, the best you can do is be there and talk to them.

Do not ignore suicide talk simply because it comes from a young child, whom you consider incapable of understanding or carrying through such an act. This whole post was inspired by the story of an 8-year-old boy, Gabriel Tayes, who was bullied in school up to the point of being beaten unconscious.

Two days after that incident, some bullies took the kid's water bottle. When he got home from school, the boy hung himself in his bedroom.

Don't glamorize celebrity suicide

Grown-ups need to be very careful when talking about suicide if children are present. Take for instance a celebrity suicide – someone who's death is all over the media. Suicide-prevention organizations have come up with strict guidelines for media coverage of such cases and parents or educators could and should stick to them when discussing such news with children.
Never use strong terms like 'successful suicide attempt' or even the word 'epidemic', which I used in the first paragraph. Presenting suicide as something that's 'trending' might make it seem the perfect solution for whatever problems the youngster might be facing.
Do not go into details, do not talk about the content of the suicide note. Instead, it is a good moment to talk about mental illness and the tragic loss of life that could have been avoided.

“Suicide should never be presented as an option. That’s a formula for potential contagion.”

(Christine Moutier, chief medical officer at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.)

Thanks for reading