Teenage Suicide

Suicide is the decision to deliberately end one’s life. According to Dr. Liza E. Ronadain, Psychiatrist at the Makati Medical Center and Center for Family Ministries, statistics reveal that suicide takes place among 18-27 years of age and 37% of suicide attempts are completed. Researchers reveal that people who consider suicide are having problems relating to friends and just keeping it to their selves. They lack social support from person who can listen to them and help them manage their problems.

Personality factors such as a negative self-image and low self-esteem contribute to the difficulty of the adolescent to cope with depression. He will feel inadequate and inferior. An adolescent with low self-worth becomes critical of his weakness and failures. It will be very difficult for a person with low self-image to whisk off feeling of rejection, guilt and helplessness. Gretchell, etc. Al, (1991) identified two attitudes that can aggravate these negative feelings and thought of suicide: overgeneralization and personalization.

In overgeneralization, he immediately draws a broad conclusion from a single incident. For example, if a girl rejects his expression of affection, he immediately concludes that “I’m a jerk” or that “I am not worth loving”. In personalization, he takes a remark or incident too seriously and personally. For example, a teenager feels responsible for the financial difficulty of the family. He feels that because of him, the family has been burdened and he is helpless to remedy the family problem. He then becomes very depressed and entertains thought of suicide.