Honors English

Did you know that suicide is the third leading cause of death in teens? Roughly 900,000 teens plan their suicides during major depression, 60% of high school students have thought about suicide, and 9% have attempted at least once. Suicide is a serious thing that needs to be prevented and the only way to do that is taking action. Your words can either save or end a life, and today I’m going to teach you what to watch for, what preventative steps you can take, and additional tips for awareness and prevention of suicide. Looking for signs of suicidal thoughts/actions is a very important part of prevention. Some signs are dramatic changes in personality, issues with loved ones, not caring about anything, and isolating themselves. Changes in quality of schoolwork, sleeping habits, and eating habits also occur. Obvious signs are expressing the thought that no one cares, talking about death excessively, making plans to take their life, and previous suicide attempts. If they are dealing with depression always look out for warning signs. In order to prevent suicide, you have to talk.

Tell the person you care, tell them that you love them, and tell them it’s not the answer and it won’t stop the pain. Let them know that they have someone to talk to. Also, you could have a close friend watch so they don’t take action, and see if anyone is bullying them. If this is happening, stand up for them. Always listen to them, and don’t make assumptions. Just talk to them and listen to them. It will make a huge difference in the life of that person. People say there are bigger issues to address first, like gangs, drugs, or alcohol. These are very important things to address, but suicide has become an incredibly large issue that isn’t addressed often.

These kids have been warned about drugs and alcohol their whole lives, why do we need to continue to press this argument? Suicide is not discussed the same way as selling drugs or underage drinking. Nobody feels comfortable talking about suicide and that needs to change because it’s something that needs to be addressed. In conclusion, always watch for signs of suicidal thoughts/actions, talk and listen to the person, and don’t be afraid to stand up and spread awareness. Suicide is a growing issue in the United States and the rest of the world, and this needs to be addressed.