Why Suicidal Cases Are Increasing Among Teenagers

It’s not easy being a teenager, with all the overflow of hormones and a short supply of understanding. People who have passed that stage often forget what it was like to be a teenager, look at them with condescending and contemptuous eyes, and brush their problems and opinions aside. It is hard for teenagers to cope with such kind of treatment from the very same people who claim to care about them. So, feeling misunderstood and rejected, they take the extreme step – a huge glass of water and twenty-four sleeping pills is all it takes, right? Wrong, it takes much planning, much deliberation, and days of depression and complete hopelessness. You think it is easy to cope with growing up? Ask a teenager how he feels about growing up and you would feel ashamed to brush them aside another time. But then, if we had understood, suicide may not have been the largest cause of death among youngsters. Here are some reasons as to why many teenagers are taking their lives themselves.

 

Here are some of the most common feelings that a teenager goes through, when he or she is at a risk of contemplating and attempting suicide:

 

Most teenagers who attempt suicide do not look upon ‘suicide’ as ‘death’ or ‘ending of life’ but as an an easy ‘escape from the situation’. Rather than trying to undo the wrong, many of which may not be undone, they resort to this seemingly easy route. They fear rejection, blame and the ‘aftermath’. Under this clause would come many cases of people giving up their lives when they fail in the examinations, when they have too much debt on their heads and such other seemingly trivial matters.

 

This is another factor that brings out feelings of worthlessness and self-doubt in many. In such cases, suicide is intended to end the hurt or rejection that the person feels and, perhaps, cause hurt to the person who caused that pain too, in a covert, rather ultimate way. The person may want the person who caused the hurt to them, to feel guilty for having caused the pain and not have the opportunity to apologise. Rejection, however, could also come from society in general, especially when the society sets too high standards for everything, even physical appearance, that those who deviate from it often find themselves inadequate. Men and women who may think they are ugly or fat or in many other ways do not match up to the ideal, would also contemplate suicide, all because they try to live up to unrealistic standards and undeserving role models. People who have attempted suicide after their personal relationships broke or their significant others broke the relationship come under this category.

 

People who have done that their loved ones may not approve of or have failed to live up to the expectations that they set for themselves or others set for them will begin to feel ashamed and unable to face their loved ones. They would not want to see the look of disappointment on the faces of their family members and other people, so they contemplate suicide. It could be because of the fact that they did not get selected for a job or the fact that they stole from their parents to support their substance abuse needs; any other such matters where expectations, real or imaginary, have been thrashed.

 

People who commit suicide or attempt it, often feel that they are not understood or loved by their parents. They might belong to dysfunctional families, their parents might be divorced or they may have lost a parent, grandparent or someone they were close to. They could also have moved into another city and may not be able to cope with the new surroundings as they miss their old friends and neighbourhood.

 

Teenagers who have had to go through physical or sexual abuse or any other form of violence are likely to contemplate and attempt suicide. They will feel isolated and will often be unable to express their pain because of the shame associated with it. Even after a number of help lines and helpdesks, the number of people who seek help for such things has not increased in any way.