September 10 is World Suicide Prevention Day! Let’s take this opportunity to let teens know they are not alone. Join hands with FamilyTime, one of the best parent apps for cell phones, to fight against teen suicides.
Each year, healthcare providers, parents, teachers, and many others come together and work hard to raise awareness against teen suicides. CDC reports suggest that teen mental health crisis continues to exacerbate due to issues like increased chronic depression, traumatic experiences, technology addiction, and the like. Let the following stats shine some light on this matter.
Teen Suicide Stats
According to research by CDC, suicide is the third-leading cause of death among teens and tweens (ages 15 to 24). That risk exponentially rises if they have access to firearms. Another study reports that almost 60% of all suicide cases happen with guns in the US alone.
Therefore, it is imperative that parents who own firearms must ensure they keep them unloaded, locked, and kept safely out of the reach of kids, teens, and tweens. Moreover, it has become the need of the hour that parents monitor their kids’ activities subtly using a dynamic parent app for cell phones.
All these stats paint a pretty bleak picture and point out that our lives have drastically changed. More importantly, we must consider why suicidal ideation is rampant in modern society.
What is Suicidal Ideation?
The figures for people (especially teens) who suffer from suicidal ideation are higher than those who actually attempt or succeed in committing suicide. Suicidal ideation is when people have thoughts of ending their life. However, having such thoughts does not necessarily mean that your teen is really going to try to end their life.
Many teens suffer from suicidal ideation, which becomes a cognitive habit or an ongoing pattern of thoughts, especially during times of crisis or depression. They idolize suicide because they see it as an escape route from all their problems and hardships.
It becomes a real problem when things escalate, and they begin planning an attempt. Therefore, parents must use a parent app for cell phones to closely observe their kids’ activities. Let’s pause for a moment and think about the causes behind such high rates of teen suicides.
Why Do Teens Consider Suicide?
Several reasons contribute to why teens consider committing suicide. Following are a few factors that may shed some light on the matter.
Teens who experience psychological disorders such as depression, severe anxiety, bipolar disorder, and the like are at high risk for suicidal ideation. Studies suggest that about 95% of suicide cases show that victims had a psychological disorder that led to their unfortunate demise.
Moreover, suicidal ideation may also stem from feelings of distress, agitation, hopelessness, a family history of depression, (emotional/physical/sexual) abuse, unstable relationships with parents and siblings, social isolation, and lack of a support network.
All these things sound the alarm bells that teens need attention and care. Parents can avert this crisis before it takes place only if they take precautionary measures and use parent apps for cell phones so they can keep an eye on their teen’s mental health.
How to Prevent Teen Suicides?
Suicidal ideation can escalate and morph into an attempt at any time. More often than not, suicide occurs as a tragic consequence of untreated chronic depression. Therefore, parents must stay on their toes and protect teens who suffer from this ailment.
The best course of action is to prevent this nightmare from ever turning into a reality. That can only happen if suicidal ideation gets caught and treated in time. The prevention plan is effective only if teens receive constant and reliable medical care and support systems.
Here are a few essential steps parents can take to fight against teen suicides.
Take Immediate Precautions & Get Psychiatric Help
If you find out that your teen is suffering from suicidal ideation or planning an attempt to end their life, it is best not to leave them alone.
Moreover, parents must remove any object that could be used in the attempt to commit suicide, such as firearms, drugs, alcohol, razors, knives, other sharp objects, lengthy clothes, ropes, etc.
Another way to help suicidal teens is by calling the US National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255). You can also that them to an emergency room at a nearby hospital or seek help from a medical health professional. Lastly, use parent apps for cell phones to monitor their mental health remotely.
Monitor Activities with Parent Apps for Cell Phones
Parent apps for cell phones can provide valuable insight into teens’ mental health. How? For instance, FamilyTime offers a Call & Text Monitoring feature that scans teens’ conversations. It can flag and notify parents about any words or phrases that highlight their feelings of suicidal ideation or if they are sexting, getting bullied, catfished, targeted by a sexual predator, etc. Consequently, parents can step in time and save their teens from a horrible fate.