Teen Suicide-Persuasive Essay 14-02-13

One in every twelve teens attempt suicide annually and it is the third leading cause of death in teens. The reason for suicide in youth varies immensely such as major disappointment, rejection, failure, or loss. Many times, these just trigger the urge of suicide, and the teen has one or maybe even more disorders. Simple things like breaking up with a boyfriend or girlfriend may seem small or even trivial to some people, but to those with a disorder such as depression or bi-polar disease it could be worth taking their life.

The numbers have increased dramatically over the years and it’s becoming a huge problem in our country. People are killing themselves before their life even begins and it seems like not many people care. We say that we care and that it’s a horrible thing to do, but we don’t do anything to try to stop it. We don’t put ourselves out there and say, “I’m against teen suicide, I’m going to donate to research,” or something of the sorts. We say this about cancer, AIDS, and many other diseases, why not suicide?

I, myself, have a personal experience in this matter. Some of my friends, and even I, have thought about or have attempted this. It’s traumatizing to all associates of the person, whether the person thinks anyone cares or not. They do care. No one is truly alone in this world, someone cares about them. But still, we don’t show it. We don’t look at the signs given or try to make someone’s day on a whim. Instead, we bully and hate. We joke, but harshly. We push and shove until the breaking point. Why don’t we look for the signs in our “friends”? Why do we try to push the limits that are clearly there?

Society has us “in our place”. It has us conform to be “normal” and that creates cliques. What’s normal to one person isn’t normal to everyone else. Some may share their opinions, but many won’t. Certain cliques become “popular” because they are what society views as normal. This can cause the feelings of disappointment and rejection to which adolescence, especially with a disorder, do not handle well. Many times we feel like a disappointment to someone or we are rejected in our lives, but many people cannot take it. They see everything that goes wrong as their fault because of either neglect, or harsh bullying. They may not feel loved because they are self-conscious and feel there is nothing to be proud of themselves for. So they feel that because of this, everything that goes awry or wrong in their lives, and sometimes even in others lives, is their fault. Then, because society has deemed a specific group of people who are “pretty”, “handsome”, “normal”, and “popular”, their spirits are crushed even more because they are not one of those people and they envy them. And those who are society’s “normal” will rag and tear at the people who aren’t, just showing them even more what’s apparent. Why do we do this? Why do we rag on people until they break? Why does it take the ending of so many lives for even a small group of people to realize how big of a part we play in other’s lives?

Why don’t we look for signs? It’s because we do not know them. Get to know them. Look them up and know them. They could save a person’s life someday. Why do we push the limits? It’s because we want to say we can push the limits that are there. That’s all we try to do today is push limits (physics, emotions, etc.). Why do we rag on people? For some reason, we apparently feel better when we put others down. We think that if we make them seem lower than us, it makes us bigger. In reality, we’re just pushing ourselves down too. We’re not close to the moral and potential of the individual we’re harassing and bullying. Why so many deaths? It’s because we’re an ignorant race. We believe that if it doesn’t personally affect us, we don’t need to take action about it. But we are wrong. We do need to take action. We need to step up and do whatever we can to prevent this.

In conclusion, this needs to be stopped or even just helped. We can’t just sit by and let this happen. So smile at someone, give them a hug, or be a friend when no one else is. Don’t neglect others and don’t push them down. Don’t put all the pressure on others and don’t take this lightly. Imagine if it were your best friend, your significant other, your parent or other family member. See how scared you feel? So do what you know is right. Treat others right. Help them when you see the signs and make sure they know it’s not their fault and they’re not alone. Just be a friend to them if you know they are suicidal, especially if they are a teen or even younger. Their life hasn’t even begun yet. And even if you don’t think they are suicidal, or just don’t know, don’t be hard on them. You never know if they are or aren’t thinking about ending everything.

 -ES