Does this sound familiar?
“where no one can understand me, when I feel like there's no hope no love,and it's all taken away from me. I feel like dying where my heart tightens up and beat so slow and the pain inside me numbs my body outside cause the world once I live in was not there for me any more than punish myself with a death penalty” - no one cares
1) An explanation of why you think this community (Teen with suicidal tendency) is hidden
I think the teen suicide tendency community is hidden due to various reasons. I think that one of the main reason is broken communication between parent and their child. From the article about Teen suicide, teens tend to not confide in their parents because they will not believe what the child is saying. Some adults feel that kids who say they are going to hurt or kill themselves are "just doing it for attention."Parents do not realise that if teens are ignored when seeking attention, it may increase the chance of them harming themselves or potentially doing what they say. Parents also take for granted that their teens will not commit suicide. It is important for parents to keep the lines of communication open and express concern, support, and love for their children. If their children confides in them, they should show that they take those concerns seriously.It's important not to minimise or discount what their children are going through, as this can increase his or her sense of hopelessness.
In National Alliance on Mental illness proved that many of us are reluctant to ask others if they have been thinking about suicide or hurting themselves because we fear that by asking, they will plant the idea of suicide in their mind. This is a common false misconception! By bringing up the question of suicide and discussing it in a neutral stance is one of the most effective approaches. The openness to the topic gives the impression that we are taking the individual seriously and responding to the severity of his or her distress.
In my own opinion, a teen with a suicidal tendency is hidden because of the negative perception attached to people who seek help.Back in my secondary school, if someone goes in the counselling room, he or she would be deemed by her friends as someone who is weak. The people have the mindset that weak people need others to solve their problem for them. They would natural distant themselves or avoid having a contact with her in fear of an adult intrusion. Thus many teens with suicidal tendency would rather pretend to be normal than to risk losing their friends.
2) A description of the concerns this community (teens with suicidal tendency) has or the issues they are facing.
From the suicide prevention and intervention, web page states that completed suicides are only part of the picture. Other forms of suicidal ideas and behaviours are much more common. It is estimated that for every youth who dies by suicide, 100–200 youth attempt it.
Statistics: (http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr58/nvsr58_19.pdf (35))
Some teens are suffering through a major disappointment such as rejection, loss of a boyfriend or girlfriend and failure at school or in sports which may trigger suicidal tendencies in teens, who have difficulty coping with these kinds of situations. Although these circumstances alone may not be responsible for suicide, they are factors that contribute to teens taking extreme measures, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, or NAMI, points out.
Worrying about their own self-worth is a common issue in teens that may lead to suicidal tendency according to American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Other similar issues include going through a parental divorce, moving in with a new family, living in a new location, going to a different school, being a victim of physical or sexual abuse.These unsettling issues intensify uncertain feelings such as distress, anxiety or agitation. Which affect the ability to judge between right action from wrong. Teens will seek suicide as a solution to escape all these issues they are facing.
Canoe.Ca found that many teen suicides are committed by people who are depressed. Depression is mental health disorder. Depression causes chemical imbalances in the brain, which can lead to despondency, lethargy, or general apathy towards life. This mental disorder can cause feelings of hopelessness and worthlessness, according to Kids Health.Almost half of 14- and 15-year-old have reported feeling some symptoms of depression that affect the ability to coping with the extensive stresses. Depression can be particularly harmful to teens who experience violence at home or at school and feel isolated from their peers or lack a social network of friends. Approximately 75 percent of people who commit suicide suffer from depression, according to the Harris County Psychiatric Centre at the University of Texas.
From a Livestrong article, it states that drug or alcohol abuse can lead to impulsive behaviour which can lead to a reckless decision or action that will cost their life. Teen who is haunted by other problems such as a mental disorder or family issues is at risk of such undesirable consequences. Similar to adults who turn to alcohol or drugs teen may believe that substance abuse will bring them relief from their surrounding difficulties, which is not the case. Kids health notes that substances abuse and mental disorders play prominent roles in the majority of suicides.
On the edge Episode 9 mentioned that Even if the teen wants to seek professional help, they are worried about the stigma of such action. The impression of Institute of Mental Health is categorised as a place for the lunatic. I think that why National Youth Health created CHAT hub. It is a friendly place that offers free assessment services for people with concerns. There are also several hotline available such as Samaritans of Singapore (SOS) which hopes to help people with issues, suicidal or people affected by the suicide by providing 24 hour confidential emotional support and Singapore Association For Mental Health which is a voluntary welfare organisations (non-governmental and non-media organisations) aims to promote social and mental health. Teens are more likely to call because they are assured that their identity is hidden to minimise the fear of being judged. Most people prefer to seek help when their identity is kept anonymous as shown by the status of a form of online help.
Statistics: http://www.samaritans.org.sg/SOS-Statistics.pdf
From my personal experience, I think that teens with suicidal tendency find it hard to seek help because many of her friends will judge her instead of supporting her through the situation; some may even leave her eventually. There was a period of time in my life that I wanted to commit suicide because I could not handle the stress given by myself to score better in my exams. My grades have never gone beyond a B even when I’ve put in so much effort. I felt like a failure and just could not bear to receive any more blows. Samantha, my best friend knew about my situation takes the issue lightly. She tried to give me encouragement by saying “Next time it will be an A”! However, this false hope made me even more depressed. After awhile she gave up on me after comforting me countless of times. She being to avoiding and ignoring me soon after.I felt even more depressed because I felt like I was a burden to her that is why she left me. I was a troublesome friend to have, that is why she left me. This was the last straw for me. The lack of family support could make the teen feel isolated, unloved and unwanted. These feeling will push her near the edge of suicide because I felt that there is no reason for me to be alive anymore. The environment around the Teen with suicidal tendency plays a crucial role in influencing her decision. Friends and family members should know the symptoms of suicide to help identify and reach out to the victim in need in hope of helping a friend to feel a little less alone. Sometimes all they need is just a listening ear.
3) An explanation of how practitioners and/ or organisations have worked with this group (if applicable). The work does not have to be theatre based. (Religion? What has been done?)
Medicine net explains that treatment of suicidal thinking or a suicide attempt involves adapting immediate treatment to the sufferer's individual needs. Those with a strong social support system, who have a history of being hopeful, and have a desire to resolve conflicts may need only a brief crisis-oriented intervention. However, those with more severe symptoms or less social support may need hospitalisation and long-term outpatient mental-health services.
Theatre in Education
NeNeMas is a Drama box community and education Branch. The present interactive theatre while using special pedagogy for students, teachers and the private sector using workshops. They hope that participants will like this type of teaching methods; participants will also understand themselves better, treasure others and care for the society.
The play “Girl in the white sand box” is a Theatre in education performance combines both entertainment and education. Through performance and interactive activity, students look into symptoms of teenage depression. Through the activities, the student can use more proactive approach methods to counter the challenges/ burden as well as to able to help their friends in similar situations. Students will go through interactive activity before and after the performance using mandarin to evoke self-reflection and develop the ability to differentiate right from wrong.
Activity focuses on the causes of the pressure of their life. To draw or list down all possible causes, list down things that are important to them. The purpose of doing so is to remind them what is important to them when the times are not smooth. The last activity was to reflect on their life. The participants have to list down the problem, person involves and why it happened for the situation column. For the solution column the participants have to list down her point of view, the view of the people involved and possible
In School
In my secondary school (Springfield Secondary School), my school counsellor planned a program to educate the student about teen suicide what is represents and its causes. The lesson plan includes the purpose of the talk. Why are the counsellors talking about suicide? He will list the common reason for teens to commit suicide that includes examples. Reasons such as being picked on at school or even being unhappy at home because of a divorce or family conflict that leads to the teen feeling distress. He would give tips on how to cope with the stress. He would advise students to talk to someone who would listen making them feel less alone. He uses a role play script to further enhance the experience. Using the script, students would be able to better relate to the situation at hand. The perks of using a script are that it allows students to reflect on what the actor is feeling and why. Student gets a better understand of whether the character is suicidal or not with supporting evidence for their perceptions. This would gear towards a collective group discussion on the topic of teen suicide. The response from the students would help indicate any possible suicidal victims.
With the basic understanding, the counsellor can then move on to explain how suicidal feeling develops. To make the character more relate-able, the student would be asked to list down possible problems and the possible emotion displayed. This provides visual perceptions of the suffering the character might have felt and how the problems manifest from one problem to another which ultimately leads to suicide. This helps to show students that their problems can affect their surroundings. The students have to put themselves in the shoe of the character to be able to empathise with her plight. The character is shown to be trapped in the situation unable to see a way out, lost the reason to live.
Samaritans of Singapore (SOS) is a non-profit and non-religious organisation which aims to provide 24-hour confidential emotional support to people in crisis, thinking of suicide or affected by suicide.
The organisation gives suicidal the impression that their problem matters to them and that they care enough to listen. It states that they are here 24/7, to provide emotional support and to prevent suicide. If suicidal feel all alone and no one seems to understand or care about them, they can call or email SOS.
Teens with suicidal tendency can call SOS 24 hour hotline that is available round-the-clock, everyday, all year. The calls are taken by trained volunteers (Samaritans) who come from diverse backgrounds, all of whom share a common capacity to care and listen to anyone who is going through a difficult time. They do not have to worry about being exposed as all information shared by callers is treated as strictly confidential. Callers can choose to remain anonymous thus reducing the fear of being judged.
They can also choose to write an email instead of talking on the hotline.If they were to email Pat, they are sure to receive a reply within 48 hours (excluding weekends and public holidays).
If teens with suicidal tendency are not afraid to meet up and talk about their problems, they might want to seek Professional Counselling.
I end off with a quote ... ...
References
-http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr58/nvsr58_19.pdfhttp://kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/behavior/suicide.html#%20
-http://www.nami.org/Content/ContentGroups/Helpline1/Teenage_Suicide.htm
-http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=By_Illness&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=23041
-http://www.nasponline.org/resources/principals/Suicide%20Intervention%20in%20Secondary%20Schoools%20NASSP%20Oct%202006.pdf
-http://psychiatryonline.org/content.aspx?bookid=28§ionid=1673332
-http://chealth.canoe.ca/channel_condition_info_details.asp?disease_id=135&channel_id=40&relation_id=55627
-http://www.livestrong.com/article/130491-causes-teenage-suicide/
-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZisNW7OpcQ%20
-http://www.samaritans.org.sg/SOS-Statistics.pdf
-http://www.onhealth.com/suicide/article.htm#suicide_facts
-http://www.samaritans.org.sg/index.htm
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