High School and its Influence on Teenagers

Problems in high school that can lead to depressive or suicidal thoughts include stress, suicidal thoughts, depression etc. The academic responsibilities of high school put pressure to meet the expectations placed on students by parents, friends, classmates and society contributes to the stress that high school students endure.

Out of the many, few effects which connect to a teenager’s mind are:

Bullying

NICHD-funded research studies also found that unlike traditional forms of bullying, youth who are bullied electronically—such as by computer or cell phone—are at higher risk for depression (Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development - NICHD, n.d.)

Preventions

We should be doing more to integrate social services in schools with medical treatments, and foster stronger relationships with varying organisations along with behavioural health counsellors embedded in the school district as satellite offices could be extremely helpful.

Bullying takes only some time to convert into something that takes away one light from the world leading to the innocent teen to indulge into self harming activities.

Self Harming Activities

Because of the feeling of temporary relief, self-harm can become someone’s typical way of dealing with life’s difficulties. Reasons a teen may indulge in such activities are Witnessing or experiencing abuse at school, home, or in a relationship, witnessing or experiencing a severely distressing or traumatic incident, loneliness, feelings of guilt or being unloved, etc (What Is Self-Harm?, n.d.)

Preventions

Try talking about your feelings to a friend, family member, trained volunteer or health professional and wait before you consider self-harm – distract yourself by going out for a walk, listening to music, or doing something else harmless to keep you busy; the need to self-harm may begin to pass over time most importantly and effectively, talking with a therapist can help identify the self-injuring trigger and develop coping skills to overcome these issues. (Sartorius, n.d.)

Once a teen starts to self harm and before it inevitably turns too late doesn’t stop, it doesn’t take much time till there is one more increase in the global suicide rate.

Suicide Rates

As per statistics show for this age group were available from 90 countries (in some cases areas) out of the 130 WHO member states. The mean suicide rate for this age group, based on data available for the latest year, was 7.4/100,000. Suicide rates were higher in males (10.5) than in females (4.1) Suicide accounted for approximately one fifth of deaths (18.6%) among this age group (Sartorius, n.d.)

Preventions

A struggling child should be surrounded by people who actually care about the person and are always willing to listen and are never tempted to shut down an upsetting conversation by saying, “I don’t want to hear those things,” rather they say, “Tell me more about how you’re feeling.”

References:

1. What is self-harm? (n.d.). UNICEF. (Sartorius, n.d.) https://www.unicef.org/parenting/mental-health/what-is-self-harm

2. Sartorius. (n.d.). Global suicide rates among young people aged 15-19. NCBI. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1414751/

3. Self-Harm: What It Is, Causes, Types & Treatment. (n.d.). Cleveland Clinic. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/12201-self-harm