Suicide Prevention in Teens
Breakups are believed to be one of the leading causes, if not the leading cause of attempted suicide in teens. Teens jump into relationships quickly without the skills necessary to know if it is a healthy or unhealthy relationship. Often heartbreak and breakups occur and can lead to depression or worse- suicide. According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, suicide is the second leading cause of death young adults age 15-to-24-year-olds. Skills can be taught that give young people the knowledge to analyze a healthy vs and unhealthy relationship.
www.CrisisTextLine.org
Teenagers text—on average of 3,339 texts per month. Crisis Text Line turns this into a way to help teens through their hardest times: family issues, stress or suicidal thoughts. Crisis Text Line gets 11,000 messages from teenagers in distress a day—the service will respond to its 2 millionth message this month.
You can share this resource with the youth you serve. Text ‘HOME’ to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor!
Recognize the Signs
Standford Children’s Health has a helpful list of reasons for teen suicide. Familiarize yourself with the list of signs predicting teen suicide. Be on the lookout!
The Trevor Project
The Trevor Project has trainings for youth-serving professionals. They emphasize crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning (LGBTQ) young people under 25. Learn more here.
Learn how Garfield County used Love Notes in a suicide prevention setting.