Over the years the issue of suicide has been slowly increasing. It is now the third leading cause of death among young people. The effects of suicide are tragic and felt long after the individual has taken their own life. Some people who consider suicide, however, never make a “serious” attempt at it. For every attempted suicide, there is said to be more than one person whose thought of suicide has never translated into an actual attempt. Suicide prevention largely targets teenagers in hope to lower the numbers of suicides a year. Depression, anxiety and, stress are the leading causes of adolescent suicide. Depression is seen as something that all teenagers go through and that there is no reason to be alarmed when a teenager shows signs of …show more content…
An emphasis is placed on the importance of identifying warning signs and risk factors for depression and suicide amongst teens. According to the research conducted by King and Vidourek (2012) early detection and suicidal warning signs is seen to be crucial for effective intervention. Teenagers need to be encouraged to be more proactive when it comes to their personal mental health. Positive coping mechanisms such as problem-solving skills, effective communication skills, and good conflict resolution skills are all essential in lessening the likelihood that a teen exhibiting depressive behaviors will go forth and take their own life. As most teenagers spend most of their time in school, better prevention and intervention programs need to be in place. Teens should be given an environment where they feel comfortable telling someone how they feel. A key component in preventing teen suicide linked to depression is for the teens to feel socially connected to others, this protection factor has been linked directly to positive emotional health. Depression often stems from isolation, if teenagers are given a place where they no longer feel isolated, in essence, this could allow for reduction in the number of depression diagnosis’s and essentially leading to less teenage lives