SUICIDE

A taboo exists around teen suicide – it is a problem that is not openly talked about.

Suicide is a major social problem. It is complex and dealing with it can be difficult. There is justified community alarm at the level of suicidal behaviour among young people. A lot of lives are touched when a teenager takes his or her life.

Many more young people make an attempt on their lives than actually achieve the end result – death!

Australia has one of the highest teen suicide rates in the world. America and England are not that far behind. Countries like Spain, Italy and Greece have the lowest. People in those countries sing and dance in the streets, tak e siesta time and seem to balance work, relaxation and fun. Families seem close knit, with an extended network of relatives, grandparents, aunts and uncles. They have a passion for life that filters down to the young ones. Things may have changed since I visited but recent statistics reveal that something healthy is happening that keeps the suicide rate so low.

An old woman came and sat beside me in a park in San Francisco. She told me about her grandson who had recently committed suicide. I asked if she knew why. Shaking her head she said, “These young ones they don’t know how to live.”

The stresses of living in our technological and industrial world press upon us. Body image and achieving at school have become over-emphasised. Consumerism and the pressure to own material possessions has increased ridiculously. The world is speeding up! Suicide figures have escalated alarmingly in the last two decades.

Thank goodness for good news – teenage suicide rates have decreased in the last couple of years.

Read more about teen suicide from page 197 of Amritas Book "Getting Real" by clicking on the icon right.