A 13-year-old boy shot himself at Stillwater Junior High School Wednesday morning, according to police. A new study shows suicide now kills more people than car accidents.
“They face being bullied by other kids,” said Bryan Jones, a mental health therapist at Perspectives Behavioral Health Management in Fort Smith. “They face disappointment in relationships, being overwhelmed by the school work.”
Life can be tough for teenagers.
“I think that society has put more pressure and more stress on people,” said Marion Pearson, a mental health professional.
A new study from the American Journal of Public Health shows suicide now kills more people than car accidents. Experts say suicide deaths rose 15-percent over the past decade.
“Economically you know life has gotten more harder for a lot of Americans and I see a lot of teens that try and help their parents with that burden by going to school and working and taking on more responsibility,” said Pearson.
Some say mental illness is sometimes misdiagnosed in young people. “They say sometimes medications can increase the risk of suicide with those particular people,” said Darin Morgan, a nurse supervisor at Sparks Health System.
Experts recommend talking about suicide with your teen. “If people talk about it people are less likely to actually go through with it when they know someone cares about them,” said Morgan.
Recognize warning signs like isolation, lots of sleeping, and being withdrawn.
“You wanna get help you know much sooner rather than later,” said Jones.
A Facebook memorial page set up by friends of the 13-year-old mentions that bullying may have caused the suicide. So far the superintendent says there is nothing to indicate that.