We all must keep a watch out for teens at risk of suicide
Christopher Coluccio, of Blue Point, holds a photo of his son Christopher, who took his own life last September at age 14. Credit: Howard Schnapp
There is a simple way to determine who needs to be spoken to about the risk of suicide.
If they’re teens, they need that talk about the dangers. Popular or unpopular, rich or poor, athletic or artistic or academic or uncertain where their talents lie, all will benefit from such a conversation.
Kids often exist in a culture so pressurized and shallow, so cruel and frightening and uncaring, that too many decide the certainty of quitting is preferable to the pain of continuing.
The numbers are terrifying: The suicide rate among those ages 10 to 24 increased 57% between 2007 and 2018, according to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Worse, emergency room visits by adolescent girls for suicide attempts increased 51% between early 2019 and early 2021.
It’s a story defined as much by our grieving neighbors as the numbers. A disturbing Newsday story this week detailed the agony of families on Long Island who’ve lost young people to suicide. They were in elementary school and middle school and high school and college. They were male and female, loud and quiet, running with big crowds or spending lots of time alone.
The parents who spoke so openly of their pain blessed our community. We should all speak openly about this suffering so parents and children feel free to share their fears and seek help. Schools must step in and provide a lifeline for students and their families.
These kids were loved by people who, each family’s tearful testimony reveals, did not know how much they were hurting. Parents had no idea children believed they’d been reduced to one final option to stop the pain.
The suicide numbers match other indicators of youth stress that were rising before the pandemic, and escalated more quickly after it began. Fatal drug overdoses among adolescents have doubled since 2010 to an all-time high. The National Eating Disorders Association reports 70% to 80% increases in calls since the pandemic began.
The kids are not all right, many of them, and they hide their distress very well.
When did we decide kids had to be winners, the standouts in every venture? Are we teaching them how to deal with defeat? Children must be taught that every life includes both victory and loss, that the sting of failure, practically inevitable when we insist on raising the bar after every success, can be part of a joyous life, and that much of the joy is in overcoming setbacks.
We must find a way to turn down the ferocious pressure of social media where every child pictured is perfect, and all are victims of intense peer pressure.
Young people often can't see a happy future or how much they are loved. It’s our job to teach them.
MEMBERS OF THE EDITORIAL BOARD are experienced journalists who offer reasoned opinions, based on facts, to encourage informed debate about the issues facing our community.
