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 

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

 

 

 

   

Nearly six months ago I purchased tickets to one of my favourite band's concert in my hometown. That band would be Twenty One Pilots |-/. It was a long wait for me to attend that concert, but it finally came; the 29th of March 2017 (also Tyler and Jenna Joseph's second wedding anniversary). It was an eventful day that one. I was awake at 5:30am, not because of excitement, but because the life of a Forensic and Analytical Science Student was beckoning. I had a practical laboratory to complete that morning; Rate of Isomerism of cis[Co(en)₂Cl₂]Cl. Needless to say, I tried to complete that lab as quickly as possible to get home to compose and ready myself for the excitement of the night. 

4:30pm came and my brother and myself set out for the arena of the concert, but not before we stocked up on Subway for dinner and box of Oreos to scoff down when stuck in the traffic away from the venue after the concert. We, my brother and I, sat in the car and ate our early dinner before lining up in front of the venue, but not before I could convince my gullible younger brother that I left the tickets at home. 

6:15pm, the doors opened. We were near the front of the line, so our wait to get in was less than 5 minutes; the perks of us buying Sliver Reserved Seating, not having to get to the venue at 6am to be anywhere close to the front near the stage. My brother and I rushed to the bar to get our overly inflated priced water ($5 for water. I repeat, $5 for water!). We then went to take our seats. We had a view of the entire stage and the pit, which we watched the people rush, push, and sprint despite securities' instruction, to get to the front. 

7:15pm, SAFIA, the support act went on. This was a band I had never even heard of before, but I actually did know a song that they were on. I had no idea that they even featured on this track and I was pleasantly surprised. This so is 'Take Me Over" - Peking Duk and SAFIA. They did well to get the crowd pumped and ready for Twenty One Pilots.

 

8:30pm, time for Twenty One Pilots! Now, because if I detail everything that happened, there would be no point of ever going to see Twenty One Pilots in concert, I am going to keep details rather vague. Let's just say that the opening was part of the rap from 'Fairly Local' and let's just say 'Heathens', 'Stressed Out', 'Tear in My Heart', and 'Ride' were all played throughout the night. 

 

All in all, this was one of the most amazing concerts I have been to, if not one of my top two all time favourite concerts I have ever attended, and I have been to more than I can count. Every single minor detail was carefully planned out and executed, and the boys, Josh Dun and Tyler Joseph sure know how to please an audience. 

 

In conclusion, have my top five Twenty One Pilots' songs to cure that PCD and FOMO.