by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB
Roanoke Times Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc. DATE: SUNDAY, January 24, 1993 TAG: 9301240119 SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: D4 EDITION: METRO SOURCE: DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
FACTS ABOUT SUICIDE
FACTS ABOUT SUICIDE Most suicides are impulsive, with little or no planning, and 70 percent of them occur in the victims' homes (Source: University of Minnesota Medical School, clinic and hospitals). Every six hours, someone 10-19 commits suicide with a gun. In 1989, 2,367 children and teen-agers were murdered with guns, 1,380 committed suicide with guns and 567 died in unintentional shootings (Source: National Center for Health Statistics). Guns were twice as likely to be found in the homes of adolescents who completed suicide as in the homes of those who tried to commit suicide but failed (Source: Journal of the American Medical Association). Most people who attempt or commit suicide have given verbal clues (Source for this and the facts below: Sol Gordon, Francine Klagsbrun, Earl Grollman: "Growing through Grief: A K-12 Curriculum to Help Young People Through All Kinds of Loss.") Talking about suicide does not place ideas into young people's heads that were not already there. There is evidence that once a suicide occurs, others may follow as a contagious reaction to hopelessness. Most teen-age suicides occur between 3 and 6 in the evening. Only a small percentage of people who commit suicides - about 15 percent - leave notes. Suicidal people have mixed feelings about death. They send out messages and clues that ask others to save or help them. No one is suicidal all the time. Most young people who attempt or commit suicide would not be diagnosed as "mentally ill." Youth suicide is often a sudden and urgent reaction to accumulative events and stresses. Many youths who have been depressed recover and lead normal, healthy lives. They learn constructive rather than destructive ways to cope and handle feelings and disappointments.