TakingITGlobal - Panorama

Published on: Mar 30, 2002

Topic:

Type:

https://www.tigweb.org/express/panorama/article.html?ContentID=280

What are we running from? Teens today, what is it about the world and the lives we are living? Why do we need out so badly? It seems to me that people are almost afraid to speak about suicide. It's such an important topic and it needs to be addressed, yet it seems to hide in the shadows. It's rarely talked about, and in my case, only spoken about on the occurance of a death due to suicide.

In many highschools, students are forced to attend MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) assemblies and Motivational Speaker assemblies. In the past three years at the school I attend, there have been three students who killed themselves. This occurred in an extremely small town, too. We are made to attend these other assemblies, which are very important, but they leave out something that is equally important. My school is now getting better. However, it is by force and fear that more students will take their own lives. This is the reason our school put together an assembly on depression and suicide this year.

Still, I'm left to wonder, what are my friends running from? Those who have successfully killed themselves could never answer me the question I'm left with. Suicide is a disease. I have realized that when it results in a death brought on by themselves, these people mst see the world much darker than the rest of us.

Where do the ideas come from that suicide is a soloution to escape all of your problems? I never grew up aware of suicide as an option, which is something parents surely would not mention to their children. I believe the media gives out the wrong impression in movies and on the news. They exploit the deaths of those who kill themselves such as Kurt Cobain. Kurt was in the public eye far more after his death than he ever was before. Is this the message we want to get across, that with suicide comes fame and attention?

I don't believe we should shield youth from this growing problem, but I do think that the media desensitizes it a great deal. I wish my small voice could, in some way, raise awareness for an issue that has so deeply impacted my life. Suicide is not an option to resort to in order to escape from the daily pressures of life. No one is truly alone and it's a matter of encouraging those who are around possibly suicidal people to step up. Be aware and don't be afraid, it takes so little to raise someone's spirits, especially when someone is feeling so low.

It is scary to know that you are nine times more likely to commit suicide if you were close to someone who killed themselve. In this case, I do not want to fall under another statistic, and I will continue to be as strong as I have tried to be.

My email is ecir_rehtaeh@yahoo.com and in order to grieve those who I have already lost, it really helps for me to help people. So email me, anyone, if you ever need to talk. There is always someone and I would be more than glad to be that someone.

So what is it that teens today are running from? Unfortunately, the answer is themselves. I plan on helping those contemplating their own deaths to help them realize that they can't run from thenselves, they need to face fears and truths and move through them. Life is hard, but without the hard times we would never truly realize just how fortunate we are to have the good in life. Love one another because hate is a major cause of depression; no one deserves to suffer. All you have to do is care, it's that simple.

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by Heather aka Rice
Published on: Mar 30, 2002
Topic:
Type:
https://www.tigweb.org/express/panorama/article.html?ContentID=280


What are we running from? Teens today, what is it about the world and the lives we are living? Why do we need out so badly? It seems to me that people are almost afraid to speak about suicide. It's such an important topic and it needs to be addressed, yet it seems to hide in the shadows. It's rarely talked about, and in my case, only spoken about on the occurance of a death due to suicide. In many highschools, students are forced to attend MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) assemblies and Motivational Speaker assemblies. In the past three years at the school I attend, there have been three students who killed themselves. This occurred in an extremely small town, too. We are made to attend these other assemblies, which are very important, but they leave out something that is equally important. My school is now getting better. However, it is by force and fear that more students will take their own lives. This is the reason our school put together an assembly on depression and suicide this year. Still, I'm left to wonder, what are my friends running from? Those who have successfully killed themselves could never answer me the question I'm left with. Suicide is a disease. I have realized that when it results in a death brought on by themselves, these people mst see the world much darker than the rest of us. Where do the ideas come from that suicide is a soloution to escape all of your problems? I never grew up aware of suicide as an option, which is something parents surely would not mention to their children. I believe the media gives out the wrong impression in movies and on the news. They exploit the deaths of those who kill themselves such as Kurt Cobain. Kurt was in the public eye far more after his death than he ever was before. Is this the message we want to get across, that with suicide comes fame and attention? I don't believe we should shield youth from this growing problem, but I do think that the media desensitizes it a great deal. I wish my small voice could, in some way, raise awareness for an issue that has so deeply impacted my life. Suicide is not an option to resort to in order to escape from the daily pressures of life. No one is truly alone and it's a matter of encouraging those who are around possibly suicidal people to step up. Be aware and don't be afraid, it takes so little to raise someone's spirits, especially when someone is feeling so low. It is scary to know that you are nine times more likely to commit suicide if you were close to someone who killed themselve. In this case, I do not want to fall under another statistic, and I will continue to be as strong as I have tried to be. My email is ecir_rehtaeh@yahoo.com and in order to grieve those who I have already lost, it really helps for me to help people. So email me, anyone, if you ever need to talk. There is always someone and I would be more than glad to be that someone. So what is it that teens today are running from? Unfortunately, the answer is themselves. I plan on helping those contemplating their own deaths to help them realize that they can't run from thenselves, they need to face fears and truths and move through them. Life is hard, but without the hard times we would never truly realize just how fortunate we are to have the good in life. Love one another because hate is a major cause of depression; no one deserves to suffer. All you have to do is care, it's that simple. « return.