PREVENT TEEN SUICIDE

Yesterday my 12-year old cousin (let’s call her Robin) received a phone call from her friend informing her that their other friend (let’s call him Bob) committed suicide. Upon asking Robin to tell me about Bob, she informed me that he had been bullied so often by other children that he rarely left his house due to the bullying.
Robin also shared with me that Bob had told her and other friends that he was considering suicide a few times. This particular time though, Bob informed his friends that he would be committing suicide at 5p.m. 2 of the friends were on the line with him trying to talk him out of it and my cousin could not be reached due to her phone being on the charger upstairs from where she was. Robin expressed feeling guilty because she felt that if she too had been on the line talking to him, she may have been able to talk him out of killing himself.
I sat horrified listening, understanding that that situation was way too big for young children to try to handle on their own. Sadly, a very similar circumstance had happened several years ago with her older brother who also committed suicide at age 12. He had informed 2 of his same-aged cousins of his plan to commit suicide and they too tried to talk him out of it to no avail.
Teen suicide has been on the rise for quite some time now and immediate action needs to be taken. Most often the first to know about a potential child suicide is another child. It is, therefore, becoming increasingly more imperative that we teach our children (starting at 4th grade level) what to do when they find themselves in a situation in which their friends are threatening suicide.
It is my belief that the entities which are responsible for having the most access to our children (schools, hospitals, churches, social service agencies, law enforcement) need to address the issue of teen suicide prevention with children themselves and assist in teaching parents how to talk to their children about teen suicide prevention. There are 3 main points that should be addressed when talking to children about suicide prevention:
- If a friend expresses a desire to commit suicide tell an adult immediately. Let children know that even adults often don’t have the training or resources to prevent suicide and that it is important to get the proper help from trained professionals to their friend. Work to eliminate the concern about tattling by asking children “would you rather have your friend mad at you and still alive or no longer living because they didn’t get the proper help?”
- If a friend has given you a specific plan for when and how to kill themselves, call 9–1–1 immediately. People with a specific plan such as time, date, or means to kill themselves are in an extremely critical state and require immediate help from trained professionals.
- Do not try to handle the situation on your own. You are not trained for handling this type of situation. You do not have adequate resources to prevent a friend from following through with suicide. Even if they beg you not to tell, tell someone. Suicidality is not a secret to keep. The guilt afterward when you are unsuccessful with preventing a suicide on your own is far deeper than the guilt associated with losing a friend due to trying to help them and possibly saving their life.
For more information on “The Lafaya Way” of dealing with tough childhood issues please visit the Peace of Mind Therapeutic Solutions website: http://pomtsolutions.com/ or subscribe to our YouTube channel @lafayaway.
