Mental illness is hard to deal with. When I talk about tools, I'm acknowledging that people can die from mental illness if they don't actively work on recovery. And young people are very vulnerable to suicide. Without the mental and emotional capabilities of an adult, youngsters can be blindsided by mental illness. And since many teenagers don't share emotional turmoil with their parents or other trusted adults, many times the adults are blindsided when a child chooses death. Teenagers, especially, live their lives in a social world that many parents aren't privy to. Social media and the pressures from growing up in a world in which bullying is common can exacerbate the problem. How many parents know about the emotional ups and downs in their teenager's lives? I would suspect many of us can identify those times when our child was secretive and didn't share what was going on. I'm not sharing these thoughts to terrify parents. I'm sharing these thoughts because I think we need to pay attention.
Before writing this article, I looked for articles on suicide in young people. And the results were not good. Whatever I read said that suicide is a leading cause of death in the young. Here is a great informational article from NAMI: http://bit.ly/1GKP1gL I think that every parent needs to familiarize themselves with the signs of danger from potential suicide. And I also think that parents need to establish a pattern of openness in the family. Many children don't share simply because they don't think that their parents are willing to hear them. When our children are convinced that all they will experience is judgement and punishment, they won't share anything that could lead to it. Adding that to the normal pattern of a teenager pulling away from a parent as they approach adulthood and you have a mix that could be fatal. We are only as sick as the secrets we keep.
On a personal level, I was almost fanatical about discussing mental illness as I raised my daughter. And the fact that I worked in the field meant that I shared my views about being open with her. Luckily, I was blessed with an open relationship with my child as a result. We talked. We shared. And I still found out things about her internal life as a young person when she became an adult that surprised me. We can all be better at building a relationship with our child. Does that mean I'm blaming parents whose children kill themselves? Of course not. Many times, even parents who know and actively work to assist their children end up having to deal with suicide. But here it is: We need to move past our prejudices about mental illness in order to help our children. THAT seems like the most important reason for dealing with stigma of all. Our future is dying. And we can do something about it. If you have concerns about your child and their emotional health, there are things that can be done. One possibility is contacting NAMI. Google their local number in your community. There are mental health centers in many communities that might help. If you are fearing a crisis, I will put the link to the National Suicide Hotline at the bottom of this article. If you look at that link, you will find information to find help. Let's talk! We can do this.
http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/GetInvolved/Locator
Before writing this article, I looked for articles on suicide in young people. And the results were not good. Whatever I read said that suicide is a leading cause of death in the young. Here is a great informational article from NAMI: http://bit.ly/1GKP1gL I think that every parent needs to familiarize themselves with the signs of danger from potential suicide. And I also think that parents need to establish a pattern of openness in the family. Many children don't share simply because they don't think that their parents are willing to hear them. When our children are convinced that all they will experience is judgement and punishment, they won't share anything that could lead to it. Adding that to the normal pattern of a teenager pulling away from a parent as they approach adulthood and you have a mix that could be fatal. We are only as sick as the secrets we keep.
On a personal level, I was almost fanatical about discussing mental illness as I raised my daughter. And the fact that I worked in the field meant that I shared my views about being open with her. Luckily, I was blessed with an open relationship with my child as a result. We talked. We shared. And I still found out things about her internal life as a young person when she became an adult that surprised me. We can all be better at building a relationship with our child. Does that mean I'm blaming parents whose children kill themselves? Of course not. Many times, even parents who know and actively work to assist their children end up having to deal with suicide. But here it is: We need to move past our prejudices about mental illness in order to help our children. THAT seems like the most important reason for dealing with stigma of all. Our future is dying. And we can do something about it. If you have concerns about your child and their emotional health, there are things that can be done. One possibility is contacting NAMI. Google their local number in your community. There are mental health centers in many communities that might help. If you are fearing a crisis, I will put the link to the National Suicide Hotline at the bottom of this article. If you look at that link, you will find information to find help. Let's talk! We can do this.
http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/GetInvolved/Locator
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