An act of causing one’s own life is called Suicide and having thoughts about one’s death is known as suicidal Ideation. When a teenager performs such an act of causing harm to their own life, it is called Teen Suicide.

Over the past years, there has been a notable increase in suicide rates among adolescents. According to the American Psychological Association, the rates of suicide attempts and suicidal acts amongst adolescents ages 16-24 years have increased up to 30% in 5 years.

According to CDC reports, suicides have become the third leading cause of death amongst young people between the ages of 15-24 years, which has recently shifted from 18-24 years over the past years.

It has been reported that rates of suicidal attempts are higher in female adolescents than in males while rates of completed suicides are found to be higher in male adolescents which is probably due to the means of attempt, males tend to use firearms for the act while females usually take the help of medicines and other means.

This article aims to educate about several causes, risk factors, signs, and preventative factors to provide immediate help that is required.

What is causing such acts?

The cause of teenage suicide isn’t one particular reason, it is usually a combination of many factors. Throughout the years, researchers have touched upon many factors that cause teenage suicide, suicidality, and suicide Ideation in teens.

This includes;

1. Bodily Changes- During the times from 11-18 years our bodies go through a lot of changes including changes in body, thoughts, feelings, and emotions, this is the reason why we aren’t able to understand the complexity of our own emotions. Such strong feelings like stress, anxiety, confusion, fear, and doubts in addition to negative thoughts and extreme hormonal and bodily changes affect a person’s ability to handle difficult situations that come their way, and teenagers sort of go through “It’s going to be forever” mentality where they might think that their problems will last forever and there’s no way out.
2. High Impulsivity- With the overall development of the body, a teenager’s brain is also evolving. Although most of the human brain is developed by then our prefrontal cortex which is responsible for decision-making and impulse control, isn’t fully developed till 25 years old, this is the reason for poor decision-making and impulsivity in teenagers.

• Low Emotional Intelligence- Emotional Intelligence is the ability to understand feelings, thoughts, and emotions of self and others. As teenagers go through so many changes and their brain isn’t fully developed, they have comparatively low emotional intelligence. Low emotional intelligence causes difficulty in understanding difficult emotions that teenagers go through and that increases the risk of suicide in teenagers

1. Undesirable life events- Going through certain traumatic and undesirable life events like bullying, abuse, and recent loss like losing a parent can be harsh on a teenager to deal with such extreme emotions, therefore, going through such trauma can lead to suicidal ideation or even suicidality.
2. Sense of Loneliness and Isolation- Sense of loneliness and isolation has been directly related to suicidal behavior according to an article by the National Library of Medicine, states that loneliness has been found one of the stressors experienced by people who are risk of suicide, this is because loneliness is associated with low life satisfaction and low resilience that makes a teenager more vulnerable to suicidal behavior. Moreover, many factors lead to loneliness, a recent study found that teenagers are spending more time online for socialization rather than face-to-face contact, our brain isn’t built for such online interaction and don’t respond to inline means of communication the same way, this is the reason why texting doesn’t give our brain a sense of connection and doesn’t make us feel; heard and understood.
3. Increased hopelessness- The adolescent age is a vulnerable state of emotional and behavioral development as it is a transitional period from childhood to adulthood. Therefore, adolescents suffer from various problems at this stage that lead to hopelessness.

Also, adolescents don’t have a proper understanding of various events they have experienced which also makes them hopeless.

Another reason why adolescents tend to be more hopeless is due to access to too much information, they are exposed to all sorts of information good or bad through social media and an Adolescent’s brain isn’t able to process such a large amount of information, this causes increased hopelessness in adolescents and extreme hopelessness has been strongly correlated to suicidal thoughts.

Who is at risk of Suicidal Behavior?

There are certain conditions, events, or behaviors seen in teenagers that can be an indication of increased risk of suicidal behaviors in adolescents, here are some signs: –

• History of mental health, like being diagnosed with depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, etc.
• Substance Abuse
• Family history of Mental Health Problems
• Family history of Suicide
• Family violence, like physical, sexual, verbal, or emotional abuse.
• Exposure to suicidal behaviors of others, like family members, television/fiction.
• Past suicide attempt
• Access to firearms like guns, and other weapons
• Imprisonment
• Burdensomeness

What are the warning signs of suicidality?

Often some behaviors in teens can be a cry for help but usually are ignored easily. Here are a few signs that shouldn’t be ignored,

• Loss of interest in previously pleasurable activities/ normal activities.
• Changes in sleeping and eating habits
• Lack of self-care or low sense of self-care
• Obsession with death or dying
• Acting out in situations
• Less activity and more boredom
• Feeling hopeless

Some signs are even clearer than others like.

• Verbal Indication/ Implications like “I’m going to kill myself; I won’t be a problem anymore; I’m going to commit suicide”.
• Writing 1 or more suicide notes
• Gives away/ throws away their important belongingness
• Becomes suddenly cheerful after being depressed

All these signs are a cry for help and shouldn’t be ignored at any cost. If you are a teenager yourself or a parent reading this article and noticing such signs in you or your child, seek professional keep immediately.

What can we do to prevent it?

• Learning/ Awareness about the warning signs of suicide and related behaviors
• If you notice such signs, have an open and direct communication with your child.

*Note: – You can ask questions about how often the thought comes, how severe it is if they have a plan of Action for the same, and if they previously attempted suicide.

• Seek professional help from your nearest mental health care provider.
• Keep any means of suicide like guns, knives, any kind of drugs, or any other sharp object away from your child.
• Limit the use of social media and other negative content online.

Normally. If you’re a teenager noticing such signs in yourself or your friend, take the necessary actions mentioned below-

• Take your friend’s behavior and talk seriously.
• Provide/encourage the friend to seek help.
• When the signs are clear to you, inform an adult whom you and your friend trust right away.

A word from Brain Gym: –

This article is only for informative purposes to spread awareness regarding the subject.

Please don’t self-diagnose or analyze other’s mental health after reading this article.

If you know someone struggling with mental health issues or are going through such struggles, seek professional help at your nearest mental health care center.

You can also consult a mental health professional at Brain Gym, which provides a team of experienced, supportive, and empathetic psychiatrists, psychologists, and other professionals working there.