13 Reasons Why just dropped on Netflix and it has got the world talking about teen suicide, rape, rape culture, sexism, mental illness, and bullying. It is extremely overdue that a TV show even begins to talk, and depicts these issues on a large global scale that is Netflix. This poses the question, why in the 21st century, is teen suicide still a taboo topic? Why is it we can talk about things such as euthanasia and war, but we cannot talk about one of the highest killers in the western world? There is a truth is saying it is the silent killer. So, let's talk about suicide, and even more so teen suicide.
I personally know an individual that committed suicide in her teen year. I however will not speak of her story for privacy reasons as it is not my story to be telling as I was not close enough to her to know every thing about this situation, but I will comment on how heavily it impacted me. I did not know her well, and yet I could not help, but to think what if I had just said to her once, 'I am here to talk to you.' I know I should not make her story about me, but if I am to speak about her suicide I do need to touch on my own emotions. I also have a friend who attempted suicide and was unsuccessful and another who had written a note to her parents and thankfully, never went through with her plans to commit suicide. I also know two other teenagers who have killed themselves over the last two years. The friend who tried to kill themself, well I was shocked when someone told me they were in the ICU; I had no idea that they even thought that way. This is just proof that suicide is the silent killer.
I did a quick search on the two words 'teen suicide' on Google and I got 58,800,000 results. I then did a search on my University's data base and I got 61,938 results for academic sources. With a combined total of 58,861,938 results, it is hard to understand why this topic is not one that is spoken about openly. I cannot remember once during high school ever having a class or discussion involving a teacher that specifically talked about depression or suicide, we had many talks and classes about bullying, but never one about suicide or depression. I'm not going to name the school, but you failed, you had one student attempt suicide and another actually succeed at committing suicide. You failed those two teenagers. The speech that was given after the student actually died was too late and achieved nothing, because it had already failed.
I have a question, why is there a large focus on bullying in schools and the mentality that bullying is the cause of the unhappiness of students at a school, but so many other influences are blatantly ignored? Yes, normally bullying is a largest influence for teenage suicide, but that in no right means ignore the other issues that could influence a young individual to even have the slightest thought that them dying is the best option. High schools are not protecting their students enough. Even primary schools are not doing enough to protect their children.
I know one specific event at a local primary school (family members attend this school) near me where a student tried to commit suicide during school hours. As far as I am aware, the older students (from grades 4-7) were not given an in depth assembly addressing this issue or even asked how they were impacted by this event, and I am lead to believe it is due to the fact that this school does not have a counselor qualified to deal with this situation. So, this leads to the point that maybe an issue is in Australian schools is that to be a school counselor you only need a degree in Education and have done a short course in the mental health, that these "counselors" are not qualified enough to even make a difference in the mind set of at risk youth. Perhaps Mental Health Nurses should be posted in every school across the nation just to attempt to combat the ever increasing numbers across Australia.
Let's talk about the statistics:
In 2015 there were 3,027 deaths due suicide Australia wide. 76% of those people were males, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were twice as likely to commit suicide than those who are non-Indigenous. In comparison to the annual death rate suicides account for 16.3 per 100,000 deaths in Tasmania, 10.8 per 100,000 deaths in Victoria, 13.4 per 100,000 deaths in South Australia, 15.0 per 100,000 deaths in Western Australia, 21.0 per 100,000 deaths in the Northern Territory, 15.7 per 100,000 deaths in Queensland, 10.6 per 100,000 deaths in New South Wales, and 11.6 per 100,000 death in the Australian Capital Territory. The Northern Territory has the highest rate per 100,000 due to the large Indigenous population that resides there.
ACT:
In 2015 46 people died due to suicide (36 males; 10 females). This was an increase from the 38 suicides recorded in 2014.
NSW:
In 2015 815 people died due to suicide (621 males; 194 females). This was an increase of the 795 suicides recorded in 2014.
NT:
In 2015 50 people died due to suicide (32 males; 18 females). This was an decrease from the 54 recorded suicides in 2014.
QLD:
In 2015 746 people died due to suicide (568 males; 178 females). This was a large increase from the 648 recorded suicides in 2014.
SA:
In 2015 236 people died due to suicide (174 males; 62 females). This was a decrease from the 240 recorded suicides in 2014.
TAS:
In 2015 85 people died due to suicide (67 males; 18 females). This was an increase from the 69 recorded suicides in 2014.
VIC:
In 2015 654 people died due to suicide (501 males; 153 females). This was a increase from the 646 recorded suicides in 2014.
WA:
In 2015 394 people died due to suicide (292 males; 102 females). This was an increase from the 374 recorded suicides in 2014.
In 2015 8.5 of all deaths in Australia that occurred on a daily basis were due to suicide. In the age group 15-19 in 2015, there were 89 males and 56 females that committed suicide out of the 3,027 suicides that occurred Australia wide that year. In the age group 20-24 in 2015, there
were 192 males and 54 females that committed suicide out of the 3,027
suicides that occurred Australia wide that year*.
Let's Talk About the Signs:
Signs are not limited to this list, and some may not even present any signs
- Talking about suicide
- Withdrawal
- Depressive state
- Overly emotional
- Exhibiting destructive behaviour
- Tidying and organising one's room
- Giving away prized possessions
- Any out of character behaviours**
- Loss of relationships
- Losing interest in activities once found enjoyable
- Substance abuse (including alcohol and prescription drugs)***
Let's Talk About What You Can Do I Someone Tells You They Are Considering Suicide or You Suspect it:
Remember to treat every threat of suicide seriously.
- Encourage them to talk about it
- Ask them directly
- Stay with them even if the tell you to leave***
- Take them to the Emergency Department of the hospital
- Call emergency services
- Encourage them to seek professional help
- Remove any and all weapons, sharp implements, ropes, and lethal medications from the premises
- Ring a helpline
- DO NOT talk about yourself
- DO NOT become judgmental
- DO NOT offer too much advice
- DO NOT panic or become angry
If you know of or are someone who needs help, then here is a list of hotlines to contact.
If you need support, references or information within Australia here is a link to Beyond Blue.
REFERENCES:
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2016). Causes of Death, Australia, 2015. Catalogue No. 3303.0. Belconnen, ACT: Commonwealth of Australia. Accessed September 28, 2016 from:http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/allprimarymainfeatures/47E19CA15036B04BCA2577570014668B?opendocument - See more at: http://www.mindframe-media.info/for-media/reporting-suicide/facts-and-stats#sthash.hAwK0IiU.dpuf
*http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/allprimarymainfeatures/47E19CA15036B04BCA2577570014668B?opendocument
** http://jasonfoundation.com/youth-suicide/warning-signs/
*** https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/youth-suicide-the-warning-signs
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