Why are Our Kids Depressed, and Why is Suicide for Children on the Rise?
Part 2
"Only few treatments are considered effective, which leaves the patients and their families with questions andfear from what might come next."
Last week, in part 1 of our series, we were showing how the rising number of suicides is not specific to the U.S., but occur throughout the world, affecting people regardless of their gender, social status, nationality, cultural or religious background. We pointed out some of the possible reasons why suicide rates are rising, closing with the thought that we need to be able to talk about our problems and teach how to identify and cope with the issues. In this week’s newsletter we delve deeper giving specifics in order to offer solutions.
In the majority of cases there’s a mental health condition that, if left untreated, could become fatal. This is among the leading cause of suicide, showing that young people are one of the most affected groups when it comes to mental health issues and the lack of resources at their disposal on how to handle them. Teen depression rates are definitely on the rise despite the fact that abundant information is being released on the subject. Support groups have been forming to create a safer place, while the media regularly emphasizes the importance of communication in order to lessen the stigma of possible shame and the fear associated with articulating problems or personal feelings.
Toolkit for Mental Health Promotion & Suicide Prevention
In 2013 a Toolkit for Mental Health Promotion & Suicide Prevention was created for both preventing suicide and providing information in cases of an existing crisis. This means that regardless your role or position in these kind of a situations, you can find essential tools such as forms, handouts, useful resources and materials on:
- prevention in form of mental health promotion (this includes information about what mental health is, how its developed, what social and emotional skills are needed for mental and physical wellbeing),
- intervention protocols to identify and assist students in a crisis who may exhibit suicidal thoughts or behaviors,
- postvention assists to support a community after the suicidal death of a school community member.
This and similar initiatives are great because they support youth’s education on various topics that go hand in hand with mental health and are—or should be—the part of their everyday life e.g. self care and self awareness, the positive role of social media as a safe platform for sharing and expressing feelings, cultural competence or coping with environmental or emotional changes.
Of course, many times the situation is much more serious and requires more than just talking. While there is an identified need for depression treatment, “the best evidence-based treatments—cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and antidepressant medications—have only modest efficacy. About a third of patients treated with either CBT or antidepressant medication do not adequately improve.”
What’s worse, medication could lead to a negative outcome that should have been avoided in the first place. In 2004, the FDA added a black box warning to antidepressants, indicating the drugs are associated with an increased risk for suicidal thoughts in children. How can a patient be possibly treated if the treatment itself could cause more harm than good? Isn’t that a catch-22 with fatal consequences? Very few treatments are considered effective, which leaves the patients and their families with questions and fear from what might come next. Or a scarier thought in cases of an attempted suicide: what if it happens again?
With such a monumental task we asked ourselves what is that we can offer. We know this is a very complex situation and we are also aware that we must approach mental illness in stages to help lessen the impact and to offer solutions to help cope with the anxiety disorders. To achieve this support we offer our clinically studied nutraceutical products that allow calmness for clearer thinking, dosage dependent. We can’t offer the missing pieces of the puzzle from someone’s personal life or change their surroundings or circumstances, although we wish we could. We can provide something else that plays an important role in their self-development and that is recognition and acceptance without judgment in order to educate to help overcome and to continue the journey gaining control over the body, mind and spirit.
Life Choice® Products You Could Try:
Kava Kava
GABA
Neurotransmitter Support
DMAE-Lights On
References:
K-12 Toolkit for Mental Health Promotion & Suicide Prevention
Vitiello, Benedetto. 2019.
