A victim of depression, which often leads to suicidal tendencies
How would you feel as parents when the police come knocking at your door to tell you that “Your son committed suicide this morning on his way to school?”
I don’t think any parent loves to hear this, yet many receive reports about suicide in their homes daily. The rate of teen suicide is abnormal, leaving indelible scars on families as they try to recover.
According to teen suicide awareness statistics, every year there are approximately 10 youth suicides for every 100,000 youth, approximately 11 suicides every day, and a person under twenty-five commits suicide every two hours and eleven minutes.
Fortunately, many suicide victims survive to share their stories, with little help to stop those who have decided not to live anymore. What is the force behind this alarming rate of teenage suicide?
The world is constantly deteriorating, as we live in an environment plagued by diverse problems and suffering.
The present generation of teenagers is stubborn, brazenly challenging every authority, including parents. Many of the youths were raised in an environment of drug violence and abusive homes, significantly affecting their upbringing.
At school, students keep on bullying other students, throwing food at them if they look different from other students. Continually facing this problem daily, one is quickly driven to depression when one can’t take it any longer.
Other factors that have increased youth suicide are the death of a loved one, serious illness, loss of hope, intense emotional pain, bitter parents’ divorce, being a victim of rape, and other psychological problems.
Whatever problem one faces, is it right to commit suicide? As an African, I feel very comfortable when I take a few things from that continent to share.
Despite the daily struggle, ethnic conflicts, corruption, sicknesses, etc., suicide is rare in Africa. Teenagers do not commit suicide. Why? Because the Holy Bible, which the white man brought to Africa to deceive our ancestors, has saved Africans from that abominable act, while in Europe and America, only a few know about the significance of the Holy Bible.
Abraham Lincoln said, "Train up a child in a way that he should go, and he will not depart from it.” This great quote reminds parents of their responsibilities as mothers and fathers in bringing up children. Hundreds of teenagers smoke because their parents smoke.
You can’t tell a fourteen-year-old child not to smoke whilst the parents smoke heavily. The hospital is there to solve many health problems, but sometimes prayer is the right step to both psychological and spiritual healing.
Many teenage suicides could have been prevented if parents took an interest in providing help, talked to their children to know what is really bothering them, and found an immediate solution.