Suicide is sadly one of the leading causes of death in the United States. In 2015, suicide was the third leading cause of death of children ages 10-14 and the second leading cause of death of adults ages 15-34. With mental illnesses, 1 in 5 (24%) teens ages 13-18 experience a severe mental illness at least once in their lifetime.
In December, Montgomery County Public Schools, a school district in Maryland experienced four different suicides at four different high schools. Students are upset and concerned over why this is happening and want the schools to do something about this.
Former MCPS student Laura Wagner posted a Twitter thread about the various ways schools could respond to this tragedy such as having a school wide assembly, making counselors in middle and high school more available, and retraining teachers to recognize possible warning signs in their students. I agree with Laura when she says that suicide needs to be talked about in schools. Students need to be aware of the different resources that are offered to them and they need to know that they are not alone.
So what can schools do to discuss this subject? It all starts with the school district. The school district needs to allocate the time and resources to train teachers and school counselors about mental illnesses, suicide prevention, the various warning signs students portray, and how to have this one-on-one conversation with an at-risk student. There should be different agendas in elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools. In elementary school, teachers should encourage their students to come to them or their guidance counselor if the student has an issue.
Having students know that they can trust their teachers and counselors at an early age can truly help the students later on when they need someone to turn to. Guidance counselors should also have different lessons that teach kids that it is ok to sometimes feel sad and when they do feel sad, how to handle it in a positive manner.
In middle and high school, health classes should focus more time on mental illnesses and teach the students the various causes of mental illnesses, different symptoms, healthy treatment methods (such as therapists, psychiatrists, etc) and coping mechanisms, and different hotlines to anonymously contact if they/their friend feel depressed or suicidal.
Specifically, in high school, high school counselors are known for just writing college recommendations and helping out with any problems or mistakes in a student's schedule. School counselors need to be available and more approachable to their students. They need to let students know that their parents will not be called- unless the student is at risk to harm themselves or others.
Furthermore, students should follow the saying "If you see something, say something." They should take care of one another and if they do notice something wrong with a peer, they should know to tell a teacher without feeling like a "snitch". Students notice so much more than a teacher and educating students to recognize warning signs can help save someone's life. Students need to have each other's back and not turn on one another for petty reasons.
I'm not saying this conversation about suicide awareness, depression, and mental illness will be easy. In fact, it will be very hard to have this talk with students. Teens now are constantly surrounded by the glamorization of mental illness and suicide thanks to both Hollywood and social media. Shows such as Thirteen Reasons Why portray suicide as revengeful and go as far as romanticizing it with the relationship between Hannah Baker and Clay Jensen. If anyone who has suffered from mental illness and has seen this show know how false this portrayal is and how upsetting it is to watch so many people believe that "13 Reasons Why" actually shows a valid representation of what mental illness is.
While social media can positively impact awareness and prevention, there are several pages that can be found on Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr that negatively promote self harm, depression, and more. One example is from former Vine star Logan Paul. Recently, Logan uploaded a Youtube video of him and a group of friends in the Aokigahara forest nicknamed the suicide forest in Japan. With the intent of filming a video focusing on the "haunted" aspects of this forest, Logan and his friends end up encountering a man who had recently hung himself. What Logan Paul does next, is walk up and film the dead body.
After that, he proceeds to laugh and make jokes about what he just encountered. Before it was taken down the following day, this triggering video was watched 6.3 million times and even made the trending page on Youtube. Children who see this video could take after Logan and believe that suicide is a laughing matter and will take it as a joke.
People who also see this video could also be triggered by the graphic details shown. With the constant influence of Hollywood and social media, teachers will be challenged to great lengths to send the message that we all need to look out for one another and take suicide as a serious matter.
I confidently believe that school districts can educate their employees to have this difficult conversation with their students. It is up to the school district to promote healthy ways to deal with mental illnesses and suicide prevention. I hope that schools find a way to send a message to all students that no one is alone and that there is help out there.
If you or a loved one is having thoughts of suicide please call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or use their online chat found on their website: https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org.
You are not alone.
