The Problem of Suicide
Extreme Stress
For these high school students, stress levels are more than just high, they're DANGEROUSLY high, and they keep rising. A study by Harris Interactive for the American Psychological Association found that 27% of students experience what they call "extreme stress." On a scale from 1 to 10, low stress is 1 to 3, moderate stress is 4 to 7, and extreme stress is 8 to 10. As the findings of the study show, during the school year the average stress level is 5.8 out of 10. Within the last month the average stress level is 4.6 out of 10. Now compare those numbers with 5.1 out of 10, which is the average stress levels of adults in the last year, and you can see that clearly this is no joking matter. Should teens be feeling the same stress as adults who balance careers, families, finances, home ownership, and other important responsibilities?
What happens when stress becomes too much to bear?
The Risk of Suicide
Although we like to push the issue of suicide out of our minds and dismiss it as a possibility, the fact of the matter is that suicide is incredibly prevalent in our society, not only in teens, but also in adults.
In 2010 there were an average of 105 suicides each day.
In 2010 suicide was the tenth leading cause of death.
In a 2011 study of students in grades 9-12...
15.8% of students had seriously considered suicide during the 12 months prior to the study.
12.8% of students had made a plan for suicide during the 12 months prior to the study.
7.8% of students had attempted suicide one or more times during the 12 months prior to the study.
2.4% of students had made a suicide attempt that left them requiring medical attention during the 12 months prior to the study.
The Risk of Suicide
Although we like to push the issue of suicide out of our minds and dismiss it as a possibility, the fact of the matter is that suicide is incredibly prevalent in our society, not only in teens, but also in adults.
In 2010 there were an average of 105 suicides each day.
In 2010 suicide was the tenth leading cause of death.
In a 2011 study of students in grades 9-12...
15.8% of students had seriously considered suicide during the 12 months prior to the study.
12.8% of students had made a plan for suicide during the 12 months prior to the study.
7.8% of students had attempted suicide one or more times during the 12 months prior to the study.
2.4% of students had made a suicide attempt that left them requiring medical attention during the 12 months prior to the study.
Data from the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control
As we have seen, stress can manifest itself in many ways that greatly affect a person's health. Stress affects one's body, mood, and behavior, and when the pressure becomes too great, it can cause unthinkable actions. To make these statistics more salient, understand that the 15.8% of students who had considered suicide are equivalent to 1 in 6 students. Quite often these students carry the burden entirely on their own shoulders and they fail to seek help either because they are afraid to, or because they don't know where to go. Suicide is a TRAGEDY and it needs to be stopped. For ways in which you can help prevent suicides, go to the How to Help page.
As we have seen, stress can manifest itself in many ways that greatly affect a person's health. Stress affects one's body, mood, and behavior, and when the pressure becomes too great, it can cause unthinkable actions. To make these statistics more salient, understand that the 15.8% of students who had considered suicide are equivalent to 1 in 6 students. Quite often these students carry the burden entirely on their own shoulders and they fail to seek help either because they are afraid to, or because they don't know where to go. Suicide is a TRAGEDY and it needs to be stopped. For ways in which you can help prevent suicides, go to the How to Help page.
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