Teen Suicides...
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| Wed, 11-15-2006 - 6:16pm |
Last month two young men from our community committed suicide, both over broken relationships. The first one was technically not a teen, but was 21 and the son of a guy I grew up down the street from. He had gone to his former girlfriends home and begged her to take him back. She refused and he shot himself in the head on her front porch. The second was a friend of DS who was 18 and a college freshman. He was a three-time AllAmerican swimmer and in his first semester at Purdue University, studying engineering. He was distraught over a breakup with his high school sweetheart and hung himself in his dorm room and was found by his longtime best friend/roommate.
DD told me this weekend that one of her good friends she has known many years attempted suicide last week. The girl waited for an evening when no one else was home and took a bottle of pills. Her older brother stopped by the house for something he'd forgotten and found her, called 911 and they were able to revive her. Her parents are divorced and mom has started dating and is apparently gone most of the time now with her boyfriend or is at work. DD says she has a rocky relationship with her mother to begin with and it has deteriorated even more lately. DD and this girl have been the only two girls on their travel soccer team the last couple years and we pretty much take her everywhere with us and she's a wonderful, bright, sweet, beautiful and down to earth young lady. I made it clear to DD that if she ever needs to get away from home for any length of time she is always welcome at our home. It makes me sick to think she was so despondent that suicide even entered her mind.
It seems like we're having an epidemic here.... :(

I have thought about suicide many times. I stay alive because it would hurt my boyfriend and parents very badly if I did kill myself. If I lost either of them then I wouldn't hesitate. I don't think suicide is wrong. There is only so much feeling like crap that one person can take.
My boyfriend has been through a lot lately. I wouldn't do anything that would hurt him like that. He was there for me when I needed him. He needs me more than ever right now and I'm going to be there.
I read this website once http://www.parentsofsuicide.com/ and decided I didn't want to contribute. I guess I am guilted into living.
This is very scary, especially the case of the Purdue freshman, cuz DS17 will start college next year.
I was worried that after DS got suspended he might commit suicide cuz he was just SOOOOO depressed. Never in his life has he had a "down day" as low as many I've seen since that happened. AFter a couple of sessions with the psychologist, two weeks apart, he seems okay, but I still worry. (The psych must keep DS's stories confidential, and that's fine; but he HAS told us that DS is safe, which was comforting.) He still has his girlfriend, but I am afraid that if they were to break up it would hit him superhard.
DS17 is the introvert, and it's so hard to get him to talk to me. I just told him he HAS to have someone to share his feelings with--a guy friend, his girlfriend, the psych--if he feels he cannot talk to me or my husband. I've even considered taking the class at the local suicide-prevention center just so that I can better understand, and help him, even though he's never actually mentioned suicide.
Sky...what if you lose your boyfriend? You have to have someone to talk to. So do tell your parents so that you can get counseling. You haven't even gotten to the fun part of life yet, you can't give up now! You gotta get through this so you get to the good stuff! Things really will get better--the bad times never last forever.
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http://www.pnhp.org/news/2009/october/meet_the_new_health_.php
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQTBYQlQ7yM
Hi Sky,
I wanted to let you know we care about you and are concerned for you. You're right, no one should be feeling bad all the time but there is help available. Can you talk to your family Dr. about how you feel? Is there are counselor at school that you could confide it? You don't have to keep feeling down all the time and you don't have to go through it alone. If you aren't comfortable talking with anyone you know, there are other sources available to help you.
I've listed some numbers below for you - people whom you can call to get immediate help.
Please let us know if there's anything we can help you with.
Karla
Community Moderator, iVillage.com
Hi Sky,
As this is a support board for the parents of teenagers, we thought you might feel more comfortable and get more advice and support from some of our other boards, including our boards for teen girls such as yourself. We have gURL.com which is an interactive website for teen girls. It has message boards and even has a Crisis Support Center for some of the issues that you are dealing with.
gURL.com - http://www.gurl.com/connect/boards/pages/0,,621992,00.html
Karla
Community Moderator, iVillage.com
A friend of my oldest daughter's committed suicide early this month. Apparently he had told someone the day before and that other child did nothing. He even sent emails to the friend's he had addy's for. My daughter was not one of them. We have talked about his death. And she has told me if she was one of the ones that her friend had told he may still be alive today. My daughter is the type of child who if someone is in trouble she either helps or gets help.
The day of her friend's funeral I let her go with her friends. And I sat there aching in my heart for this boy's mother. He was only 14 years old. Here my daughter is showing independence at such an age and she will not have that ever again. I admit, I cried for her and her son.
After his death I have gone so far as to write an article about teen suicide and what we, as parents, should help our children with. I even attached at the end a dedication for her friend.
No child should have to deal with death in such a matter, or feel it's necessary to end their life.