Emilee Thompson
Ms. Clark
English 1
2 April 2015
Teen Suicide Suicide is not something to joke around with. Suicide takes the lives of over 38,000
American citizens. What if our schools started screening children and teenagers for mental illnesses and suicidal tendencies? These screenings will help professionals and even parents identify children or teenagers that are at risk for depression and suicidal thoughts. There are three main reasons we should have these screenings First, some people may not know they have suicidal thoughts, Second, it would lower the number of suicides we have per year, finally, they may not know how to ask for help. One reason schools should start doing this is because some people may not realize that they are having suicidal thoughts. They may feel depressed but not think that they’re feeling suicidal. Suicide is not the first thing to come in mind when you are depressed. When you are depressed you feel hopeless and lonely. Then you think to yourself about if anyone would care if something happened to you. And that's when you start to become suicidal. Another reason is that some people don’t know how to ask anyone for help. Some people may not want their friends thinking of them differently. Some teens may think that they could get
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in trouble for feeling this way. Their parents may not understand why they are feeling suicidal.
Parents may be upset with their child for trying to commit suicide.
The last thing is that having these screenings could lower the number of suicides we have per year. Just think 1 in 100,000 children ages 10 to 14 die by suicide each year. (NIMH) 7 in
100,000 youth ages 15 to 19 die by suicide each year. (NIMH) 12.7 in 100,000 young adults ages
