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Fear of the unknown is an especially powerful emotion when it comes to determining whether your teenager is at a high risk of committing suicide. However, you can turn the fear of the unknown into the power of knowing the telltale warning signs that are associated with suicide. Moving through the adolescent years can be the most difficult era of someone’s life. If your teenager participates in individual child therapy, the therapist can determine whether any of the warning signs of suicide exist.
You can take it a step further by joining your teenager for one or more family therapy sessions that provide insight into the status of your child’s mental health.
Risk Factors for Teen Suicide
Teenagers are particularly vulnerable to experiencing the emotional roller coaster ride that is associated with many life circumstances. Losing a family member is one of the most common risk factors for a teen to commit suicide. A history of physical or sexual abuse can trigger powerful depression symptoms that include the development of suicidal thoughts. Adoption is another risk factor for a troubled teenager, as the adolescent cannot develop a close bond with the adoptive family. When a teenager goes through a traumatic event, EMDR therapy can help address negative thoughts and emotions.
It is not just personal issues that increase the risk of suicide among teenagers. You also have to consider whether a teenager’s family has a history of suicide or living with one or more types of psychological disorders. Then, we have the issue of convenience, which describes how easy it is for a teenager to gain access to a firearm or another type of lethal weapon.
Warning Signs of Teen Suicide
A typically outgoing teenager who suddenly withdraws from interacting with other people might have experienced one or more traumatic events that lead to the development of suicidal thoughts and actions. Writing and/or talking about committing suicide is the easiest warning sign to detect, and it requires the immediate intervention of a parent or another family member to address the issue.
Extreme mood changes that occur without an apparent trigger are another warning sign of teen suicide, especially if a teen starts abusing drugs and/or alcohol. An adolescent who changes a daily routine, such as eating and sleeping patterns, might be revealing one of the warning signs of teen suicide. Your teenager does not have to discuss suicide to demonstrate an overt warning sign of committing the act. Overly destructive behavior like taking considerable physical risks might indicate a teenager does not care about living.
Act with a Sense of Urgency
If you detect one or more warning signs of teen suicide, contact one of our certified therapists to determine how to intervene. Even if you are not sure about the mental state of your teen, get help from an experienced child therapist. As the saying goes, it is better to be safe than sorry.
