Preventing Suicide in Young People
Australian young people aged up to 29 years are at greater risk of suicide than their peers in other western countries. Young males are at four- six times at greater risk of suicide than are young females Young Australians are significantly more likely than older Australians to be admitted to hospital after intentional self harm, women are much more likely to self-harm than are men.
Suicide is a complex behavioural choice, usually motivated by a range of emotional, physical, social and situational challenges faced by an individual. These circumstances in combination are generally experienced as overwhelming, unlikely to change an beyond the control and scope of the individual and their coping resources. Youth, by definition, affords relatively limited power, coping resources, or life experience and given the immense expectations placed upon young people it is not too difficulty to understand the increased incidence of overwhelm and resulting suicidal behavioural responses among the group of Australians who simply want the trouble to disappear and can at times think of no other way of achieving this.
Many triggers, or predisposing situations have been identified in association with suicide. These include a history of individual or familial depression; abuse or trauma, conflict over sexual identity, substance misuse, long standing patterns of social isolation or poor communication; grief and loss (including relationship, perceived school or work failure), unwanted pregnancy, unemployment, legal issues, disability or illness.
Indications that a young person is struggling include loss of interest in usual activities, new argumentative, violent or disruptive behaviour and loss of humour or usual lighthearted behaviours, withdrawal from friends and family and from physical touch, decreased performance at school/work. These may be accompanied by depressive symptoms such as poor concentration, attention, changed appetite, activity, personal-care/presentation and sleeping patterns, or symptoms of other mental illness such as delusions or hallucinations, or sudden and excessive happiness, activity, energy or risk-taking behaviors.
If you notices these changes in yourself or others what should you do? Social support is very useful at these times. Social support is about calm, supportive listening not judgement or diagnosis or advice giving. You/or the young person may feel isolated, confused and alienated, and scared of what you/they feel but don’t understand. It is helpful that someone can reflect this without interpretation. Questions about “what, when, how, where” you/they feel or think what you/they do, not “Why or why not” are helpful in clarifying things for them and you. Find someone who can do this, who won’t minimize your/their pain or fear, but reassure you/them that support and solutions are out there and that, somewhere down the track, you/they will look back on this time with different eyes and different understandings.
It is important that someone reflects that you/they matter and your/their pain matters and is understandable. Someone who won’t catch the overwhelm or hopelessness, who’ll remember, you/they don’t have to be all of the solution, or have all of the coping resources needed, because those solutions and resources are out there. Find professional help and support when necessary.
As a psychologist, I can be the voice of support and hope whilst gently creating the expectation that help is available to make the difference they need. I can find out how you intend to hurt yourself if they were going to and find out where the means of this harm may be. I can negotiate the removal of any source of harm, and contract that you/the young person will make contact if they feel at risk and need support. In the longer term, I can teach you/the young self-nurturance, relaxation and coping skills, problem-solving and goal-setting skills which make life more manageable and increase your protective behaviours.
Make the choice to make the change because you matter.
