How Your Teen Can Help Their Suicidal Friends

How Your Teen Can Help Their Suicidal Friends

Suicide is possibly the cruelest means of death for survivors to reconcile. Unlike a heart attack, cancer or a car crash, survivors of a friend or family member who has taken their own life are forever left with the question, “Why?”

Teen suicide rates are startling. Since the onset of social media, a new form of bullying has taken place, and parents and educators have only caught on to it in the past few years.

Is there anything your teen can do to help a suicidal friend? Might their words or actions result in the prevention of a friend’s suicide?

What to Do

The first means of your teen helping a suicidal friend is to understand the signs of an impending suicide. These signs include suicide threats, suicide notes, self-harm, previous suicide attempts, depression, “masked” depression, talk of final arrangements, lack of concentration, dramatic personality changes, and talk of any means—like access to pills or guns—that might indicate thoughts of suicide.

While some of these signs are clear, others—like masked depression, aren’t. “Masked” depression is referred as such because the teen doesn’t appear depressed—at least not by typical standards. Instead, he or she might become aggressive, play with guns, drink, take drugs, or exhibit other signs of dangerous behavior.

Dramatic personality changes might include sleeping all day, disconnecting from friends, skipping school, neglecting personal hygiene, or sudden elation following a long period of depression. Suicide threats might not be obvious, and could include artwork depicting death or joking about dying.

Making sure your teens know these signs of suicide is the first step in helping them help their suicidal friends. If your teen even remotely suspects a friend is considering suicide, urge them to speak to a trusted adult immediately.

In addition to knowing the signs of suicide and speaking with a trusted adult, your teen can help their suicidal friends by having conversations with them. If they fear a friend may be suicidal, they will learn more about their state of mind by talking with them. They must be aware, however, that suicidal friends might ask them to make a deal. They must never promise that they won’t tell someone about the friend’s thoughts or plans of suicide.

Compassion starts at home. If your teen is used to respecting and recognizing others feelings, he or she will be more likely to recognize some of the signs of suicide in their friends. Keep lines of communication open so your teen will be comfortable confiding in you when confronting these situations.

For more information on how to deal with a child who is contemplating suicide, contact us. Our caring, thoughtful staff can provide additional support and guidance.

Request Free Admissions Information

Step 1 of 3 - Your Contact Info

Written by Natalie

19 Oct, 2017

Recent Posts

What Are The Best Programs for Troubled Teens?

What Are The Best Programs for Troubled Teens?

If you have a troubled teen or a teen otherwise in crisis, it may have been suggested that you consider a therapeutic boarding school or a residential treatment center. While you know your teen needs more help and better therapeutic options, you may hesitate to...

Is My Teenager Gaslighting?

Is My Teenager Gaslighting?

Does it sometimes feel like your teenager is making you doubt yourself, doubt the things you’ve said, and even feel confused about what you have or haven’t said? If you’re confused just by trying to figure it out, there are good odds that your teenager is gaslighting...

10 Fall Activities To Do With Your Teen

10 Fall Activities To Do With Your Teen

The holidays will be here before we know it - and now is the perfect time to reconnect with your teen before the hustle and bustle of the winter season arrives. Not only can you show your teen that you’re available to them for time outside of work and school, but you...

Help! My Teen is Sexually Active.

Help! My Teen is Sexually Active.

It’s the conversation many of us have been dreading for years: Talking to your sexually active teens about what they are doing, how they need to be safe, and how to recognize red flags in their sexually active life. As much as we’d like to simply bury our heads and...

Conflict Resolution for Teens

Conflict Resolution for Teens

Conflict can be stressful no matter how old you are. Unfortunately, conflict is just part of life. Teens can feel conflict to be very personal and even scary, leading to behaviors that are not optimal for dealing with this stress. Teens also are more likely to be...

How Do I Control My Anger as A Teenager?

How Do I Control My Anger as A Teenager?

Your teen years are filled with rollercoasters of emotions, confusion, frustration, and so much more. Parents may say that the teen years are challenging for them, but it could just be that they’ve forgotten just how it feels to be a teen. And indeed, parents today...

You May Also Like…

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *