Teenage Self Harm and Suicide

1. Teenage Self Harm and Suicide Kyle Butler-Fish P.1

2. Why Did I Choose This Picture? I chose this picture not only because it shows the act of self harm (cutting of the wrist) but because it also shows that it is a cry out for help. The sad fact is that most parents nowadays are not involved enough in their child’s lives to notice when they are depressed.

3. It is true that some teenagers self harm simply to attract attention or to fit in with a specific group of teens that we label as “Emo”. However, the vast majority of teenagers who self harm do so to escape the emotional pain in their lives. The human brain focuses on the more immediate pain and blocks all the rest out. Hence, when one cuts his or her wrist, burns themselves, or any other form of self harm, the brain doesn’t think of any emotional distress and only focuses on the physical pain.

4. Not only is there the immediate chance of death while self harming, but there are also lasting effects. The nerves going towards your hands and feet can be severed or severely injured, preventing any feeling in them for the rest of your life. Another lasting effect is that self harming can be extremely addicting just as cigarettes or alcohol. Many teen suicides can be prevented if parents, teachers, or any other adult figure noticed if a student was troubled or depressed and talked to them.

5. Some Facts About Self Harm • 40-60% of all teen suicides are unintentional and only meant to self harm in an attempt to escape the pain temporarily. • Self harm includes: burning, scratching, hitting, interfering with the healing process, hair pulling, cutting, and ingesting toxic substances. • It is believed that about 1 out of every 10 teenagers self harm in one way or another. However, this could be an underestimate as many teens do not tell anyone if they do.

6. Personally, I know some teenagers who have self harmed on a daily basis. These students do not do so because they want to die, they do it to escape the emotional pain in their lives. For many students it is not a single problem that causes them to go to this extreme. Many of them have family problems at home, stressed out with school, recovering from a hard break up, not receiving any support from parents, are bullied at school, or any combination of these.

7. All of you can help lower the number of teen suicides by giving a compliment here and there or holding a door open for someone. Over 90% of teenager self harmers are more comfortable talking to a friend than a teacher or parent. You can help by listening to their problems or referring them to a councilor. It is not a bad thing to “snitch” on them by talking to a trusted teacher or councilor about them. Would you rather have them commit suicide because you were too scared to tell a councilor?

8. Most of these self harmers want someone to talk to. They want someone to help them, but they are too scared to ask for it. It is our job as a race to look out for each other, especially those closest to us. How guilty would you feel if you noticed your friend acting weird lately but didn’t want to mention anything and they downed a bottle of pills and was never heard from again? Everyone needs someone to talk to.

9. This topic is closely intertwined with bullying. You should not bully anyone in any way because you do not know what else that person may be going through and you might be that last straw that tips the scale and drives them to suicide. Parents also need to be more involved in their child’s lives so they can notice if they start acting depressed. These self harmers should go to a trusted adult to talk about their life problems however most will not. They need someone to reach out to them. Most of these teens feel alone in life and you can help just by talking to them.

10. Self harm is a terrible thing that no one should ever have to go through. It will always exist but we can lower the numbers of self harmers and suicide attempts. All I ask from all of you is to be there for your fellow student body. Thank you.