The Student News Website of Susquehannock High School,   Glen Rock, Pennsylvania.

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The Student News Website of Susquehannock High School,   Glen Rock, Pennsylvania.

SHS Courier

The Student News Website of Susquehannock High School,   Glen Rock, Pennsylvania.

SHS Courier

End of October sparks awareness

Life can be hard at times, whether it be due to school, a job, or even the time one spends at home, leading one to question at what point is at all too much to handle.

Most recently, suicide has made the news because of the suicide video of Amanda Todd frequenting the web and October having been national suicide prevention month.

One of the top ways to prevent suicide is just asking for help, or helping those who need it.

For 90% of self afflicted deaths, the victim has a diagnosable mental illness, according to American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s website.

Many of these people have no idea that the down in the dumps feeling they have is an actual illness that needs to be medicated and tended to.

One of the reasons many will not speak out about these feelings is negative connotation associated with depression, anxiety, and even self injury addictions.

Kids, and even adults, can be judged and excluded from every day life just for having a disability they cannot control.

A disability is just what it is; a mental disorder is when there is a or malfunctioning part of the brain.

For kids around the ages of 15-19 years old, suicide is the third leading cause of death, according to the National Institute of Mental Health’s website.

No one ethnicity has proven to be by far a leader in mental illness cases; it can affect any one person of any age says NIMH.

In fact, these illnesses can often be misdiagnosed in young children.

Kids with severe anxiety in elementary school levels can have panic attacks diagnosed as asthma attacks and the nauseas feelings diagnosed as a food allergy or intolerance.

For anyone with suicidal feelings, NIMH offers a helpline for immediate help (1-800-273-TALK).

Other treatments include possible medication, therapy, and even long time patient stay at hospitals.

The hospitals help one who is a danger to themselves be in a safe place while their meds are being regulated and they can get the little extra help they need to get back on their feet.

Therapy is also where the patient can get some of the stress off their shoulders and vent about their problems freely, these secessions can be alone or in a group, possibly with other patients or with friends or family that need to hear what the patient has to say.

As hard as these things are to handle, with or without a mental disorder, suicide is never the answer.

No matter how much one may think that things would be easier if it all ended is wrong, because something you fought to have, like simple happiness and a bright day, means a lot more than seeing none of those days at all.

Sources:   http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/suicide-in-the-us-statistics-and-prevention/index.shtml

http://www.afsp.org/index.cfm?page_id=04ea1254-bd31-1fa3-c549d77e6ca6aa37

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End of October sparks awareness