Help prevent teen suicides

I found this letter on MessengerNews.net and thought it had some good information on how to notice the signs that someone is being bullied in an effort to prevent further teen suicide.

To the editor:

A teen committing suicide is a problem spreading across the nation that needs to be put to a stop. As years have passed, more of these teens are putting all emotions they are going through out into social networking sites right before they commit suicide. I strongly believe that these teens are calling out for a last string of help and no one is listening. CNN Wire staff recently published the article, "Mother Faults Authorities in Suicide of Daughter Who Tweeted About Abuse." Within that article, they spoke of a Texas teen who had tweeted 144 times to Twitter about her feelings of sexual abuse she had experienced and the struggles she was having with it. When she felt no one took action towards her tweets, she committed suicide.

This teen was feeling very alone and felt she had no other way to get out of her situation other than to end her life. As teens and parents, we all need to become more aware of the warning signs that struggling teens give. Seeing these warning signs can allow us to reach out to these people and let them know they are not alone. This will hopefully show them that ending their life is not the best option.

Pay attention to those who are giving off some of the following signs: distancing themselves from family and friends, experiencing drastic mood changes, giving away their belongings as gifts, loss of energy, or change in sleep and eating patterns. Frequent updates of sorrow emotions are a warning sign on social networking sites that can be a huge indicator that something is troubling a teen.

Teens, step out of your comfort zone and become a friend with someone whom looks like they need some support. Parents and guardians, pay attention to your kids and help them get through the rough times that may seem overwhelming to them. We can all look for the warning signs of troubling teens and help in stopping the growing trend of teen suicide.

Shelby Beilke

Humboldt

Source: http://www.messengernews.net/page/content.detail/id/544110/Help-prevent-teen-suicides.html?nav=5088