With the recent death of yet another teenager from suicide, I feel it is extremely important to talk about suicide more. I know, most of my articles are about these sad topics, but they are important to know about and be informed about. Clearly, suicide is a real issue. In fact, in Delaware alone, the number of suicides doubles the number of homicides according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. According to the same website, suicide is the third leading cause of death in ages fifteen to twenty four, and the second leading cause of death from ages twenty five to thirty four. That's in Delaware. Delaware is ranked thirty third for how bad their suicide rates are. That leaves thirty two states with worse suicide issues than Delaware. That is astounding. It truly scares me. Suicide is one of those topics that people are too afraid to talk about and it really NEEDS to be.
Personally, remembering back to my high school, the information we were taught on suicide was basically taken as a joke. They showed us videos that were such bad quality they were laughable. They were so obviously out dated and unrealistic that no one even paid attention. The summer following my freshman year, a girl who was going into her senior year took her own life. This past spring, a boy that I knew took his own life. He was 14. And recently another girl (whom I believe was a senior but I could be incorrect) took her own life. While I am fully aware that there are many many many more suicides in the state of Delaware (obviously from the above statistics), those three have really hit me, because they were so close to people that I knew.
Suicide is not a trend. Suicide is not a phase. Depression is not something to overlook. Suicidal thoughts and tendencies are not something to overlook. And kids especially need to be taught about suicide. While a lot of times people who want to commit suicide are not going to talk about it, there are warning signs. There are things people can do. As a person who has talked people out of suicide, I can tell you right now, there is ALWAYS something you can do. There is a desperate need for high schools and even middle schools to start teaching more about suicide. And personally, if I need to get up and get this started, damn it I will. Because these people that we've lost deserve to have a voice. I truly believe that we need to start somewhere.
I ask everyone to think about things you could do to kickstart this. These people can't speak for themselves anymore, but they still deserve to be heard. Teenagers and adults alike.
Rest in peace Gabriella who took her life this past week. Rest in peace Matthew who took his life in April. Rest in peace Erika who took her life in July 2013. And rest in peace to all of the lives that have ended too early.
For anyone who may need it, here is the suicide hotline.
1-800-273-8255
