Teen Suicide Talk

_black death. by =Bloddroppe on deviantART
© By Anonymous

The silent car ride,
The tearful eyes
The day I finally died inside.

The blood soaked wrist
And the glistening knife
Were the things that
Should have ended my life.

They rushed me off
To the hospital that night
A place for people
Who lived in fright

The horrific white walls
The tensions cold air
The children crying out
In their pain and wear

The dark room
My roommate and I kept
Was the one that haunted me
Every night when I slept.

The blood that was drawn
I still painfully lack
It haunts me these days
To ever look back.

Ten therapy sessions
Each day and night
So overwhelming
I wanted to fight.

The bolted windows
The locked doors
The imprisoned children
In the psychiatric ward

Letters from loved ones
Saying I love you so much
Them saying they need me
And miss me and such

I open the closet
In the bedroom
So plain
The door filled with
Carvings and drawings
And names

A phrase carved into
That old wooden door
It read Kelly died here
And I could not ignore

To this day I wonder
If that Kelly is alright
If she has fun with friends
Or has sleepless nights

I remember that day
With the glistening knife
The blood soaked wrist
And the horrible life

I still walk on
With my head held high
As I think of the
Day I died inside.
Read More Here

Did i do that by ~m1rna on deviantART

For Children Who Were Broken
it is very hard to mend……

Our pain was rarely spoken
and we hid the truth from friends.

Our parents said they loved us,
but they didn’t act that way.
They broke our hearts
and stole our worth,
with the things that they would say.

We wanted them to love us.
We didn’t know what we did
to make them yell at us
and hit us,
and wish we weren’t their kid.

They’d beat us up and scream at us
and blame us for their lives.
Then they’d hold us close inside their arms
and tell us confusing lies
of how they really loved us –
even though we were BAD,
and how it was OUR fault they hit us,
OUR fault that they were mad.

When days were just beginning
we sometimes prayed for them to end,
and when the pain kept coming,
we learned to just pretend
that we were good
and so were they
and this was just
on of those days …
tomorrow we’d be friends.

We had to believe it so.
We had nowhere else to go.

Each day that we pretended,
we replaced reality
with lies, or dreams,
or angry schemes,
in search of dignity ….
until our lies
got bigger than the truth,
and we had no one real to be

Our bodies were forsaken.
With no safe place to hide,
we learned to stop
hearing and feeling what they did to our outsides.

We tried to make them love us,
till we hated ourselves instead,
and couldn’t see a way out,
and wished that they were dead.
We scared ourselves by thinking that,
and scared ourselves to know,
that we were acting just like them –
and might ever more be so.

To be half the size of a grown-up
and trapped inside their pain….
To every day lose everything
with no savior or refrain…
To wonder how it is possible
that God could so forget
the worthy child you knew you were,
when you had not been damaged yet …
To figure on your fingers
that the years till you’d be grown
enough to leave the torment
and survive away from home,
were more than you could count to,
or more than you could bear,
was the reality we lived in
and we knew it wasn’t fair.

We who grew up broken
are somewhat out of time,
struggling to mend our childhood,
when our peers are in their prime.
Where others find love
and contentment,
we still often have to strive
to remember we are worthy,
and heroes just to be alive.

Some of us are healing.
some are stealing.
Most are passing the anger on.
Some give their lives away to drugs,
or the promise of like beyond.
Some still hide from society.
Some struggle to belong.
But all of us are wishing
the past would not hold on
so long.

There’s a lot of digging down to do
to find the child within,
to love away the ugly pain
and feel innocence again.
There is forgiveness
worthy of angel’s wings
for remembering those at all,
who abused our sacred childhood
and programmed us to fall.
To seek to understand them,
and how their pain became our own,
is to risk the ground we stand on
to climb the mountain home.

The journey is not so lonely
as in the past it s been …
More of us are strong enough
to let the growth begin.
But while we’re trekking
up the mountain
we need everything we’ve got,
to face the adults we have become,
and all that we are not.

So when you see us weary
from the day’s internal climb …
When we find fault
with your best efforts,
or treat imperfection
as purposeful crime …
When you see our quick defenses,
our efforts to control,
our readiness to form a plan
of unrealistic goals …
When we run into a conflict
and fight to the bitter end,
remember …
We think that winning means
we won’t be hurt again.

When we abandon OUR thoughts
and feelings,
to be what we believe YOU
want us to,
or look at trouble we re having,
and want to blame it all on you…
When life calls for new beginnings,
and we fear they re doomed to end,
remember…
Wounded trust is like a wounded knee–
It is very hard to bend.

Please remember this
when we are out of sorts.
Tell us the truth, and be our friend.
For children who were broken…
it is very hard to mend.

More Poetry http://survive.org.uk/poems.htm

Subject: Worth The Read

This is heavy, but well worth the read. Especially for anyone with kids…….

First I’M going to tell you a little about me and my family. My name is Jeff. I am a Police Officer for a city which is known nationwide for its crime rate. We have a lot of gangs and drugs. At one point we were # 2 in the nation in homicides per capita. I also have a police K-9 named Thor . He was certified in drugs and general duty. He retired at 3 years old because he was shot in the line of duty. He lives with us now and I still train with him because he likes it. I always liked the fact that there was no way to bring drugs into my house. Thor wouldn’t allow it. He would tell on you. The reason I say this is so you understand that I know about drugs. I have taught in schools about drugs. My wife asks all our kids at least once a week if they used any drugs. Makes them promise they wont.

My wife Kathy is a nurse and we have 3 children. Kyle was the oldest at 14. The other two are 12 and 13 years of age. Kyle loved football and played for his school. I went to every one of his games. He didn’t always play much since it was his first year but I didn’t care. He also loved playing games on his computer or his playstation. When World of Warcraft was coming out in a beta version he signed up like 200 times to be a beta tester for it. If you were picked you got a number and could go to the site and download it. Well, Kyle signed up so many times he received 2 numbers. He then posted one on ebay and sold it for 375.00 dollars. Unbelievable for a 2 or 3 month beta test. He then contacted a losing bidder from California (different time zone) and sold him the 12 hours that he would be sleeping or in school for, for 100.00 dollars. They shared the log in code. Kyle had so much potential. He could do anything he wanted to.

I like building computers occasionally and started building a new one in February 2005. I also was working on some of my older computers. They were full of dust so on one of my trips to the computer store I bought a 3 pack of DUST OFF. Dust Off is a can of compressed air to blow dust off a computer. A few weeks later when I went to use them they were all used. I talked to my kids and my 2 sons both said they had used them on their computer and messing around with them. I yelled at them for wasting the 10 dollars I paid for them. On February 28 I went back to the computer store. They didn’t have the 3 pack which I had bought on sale so I bought a single jumbo can of Dust Off. I went home and set it down beside my computer.

On March 1st I left for work at 10 PM. At 11 PM my wife went down and kissed Kyle goodnight. At 530 am the next morning Kathy went downstairs to wake Kyle up for school, before she left for work. He was sitting up in bed with his legs crossed and his head leaning over. She called to him a few times to get up. He didn’t move. He would sometimes tease her like this and pretend he fell back asleep. He was never easy to get up. She went in and shook his arm. He fell over. He was pale white and had the straw from the Dust Off can coming out of his mouth. He had the new can of Dust Off in his hands. Kyle was dead.

I am a police officer and I had never heard of this. My wife is a nurse and she had never heard of this. We later found out from the coroner, after the autopsy, that only the propellant from the can of Dust off was in his system. No other drugs. Kyle had died between midnight and 1 Am.

I found out that using Dust Off is being done mostly by kids ages 9 through 15. They even have a name for it. It’s called dusting. A take off from the Dust Off name. It gives them a slight high for about 10 seconds. It makes them dizzy. A boy who lives down the street from us showed Kyle how to do this about a month before. Kyle showed his best friend. Told him it was cool and it couldn’t hurt you. Its just compressed air. It cant hurt you. His best friend said no.

Kyle’s death
Kyle was wrong. It’s not just compresses air. It also contains a propellant. I think its R2. Its a refrigerant like what is used in your refrigerator. It is a heavy gas. Heavier than air. When you inhale it, it fills your lungs and keeps the good air, with oxygen, out. That’s why you feel dizzy, buzzed. It decreases the oxygen to your brain, to your heart. Kyle was right. It cant hurt you. IT KILLS YOU. The horrible part about this is there is no warning. There is no level that kills you. It’s not cumulative or an overdose; it can just go randomly, terribly wrong. Roll the dice and if your number comes up you die. ITS NOT AN OVERDOSE. Its Russian roulette. You don’t die later. Or not feel good and say I’ve had too much. You usually die as your breathing it in. If not you die within 2 seconds of finishing “the hit.” That’s why the straw was still in Kyle’s mouth when he died. Why his eye’s were still open.

The experts want to call this huffing. The kids don’t believe its huffing. As adults we tend to lump many things together. But it doesn’t fit here. And that’s why its more accepted. There is no chemical reaction. no strong odor. It doesn’t follow the huffing signals. Kyle complained a few days before he died of his tongue hurting. It probably did. The propellant causes frostbite. If I had only known.

Its easy to say hay, its my life and I’ll do what I want. But it isn’t. Others are always effected. This has forever changed our family’s life. I have a hole in my heart and soul that can never be fixed. The pain is so immense I cant describe it. There’s nowhere to run from it. I cry all the time and I don’t ever cry. I do what I’m supposed to do but I don’t really care. My kids are messed up. One wont talk about it. The other will only sleep in our room at night. And my wife, I cant even describe how bad she is taking this. I thought we were safe because of Thor. I thought we were safe because we knew about drugs and talked to our kids about them.

After Kyle died another story came out. A Probation Officer went to the school system next to ours to speak with a student. While there he found a student using Dust Off in the bathroom. This student told him about another student who also had some in his locker. This is a rather affluent school system. They will tell you they don’t have a drug problem there. They don’t even have a dare or plus program there. So rather than tell everyone about this “new” way of getting high they found, they hid it. The probation officer told the media after Kyle’s death and they, the school, then admitted to it. I know that if they would have told the media and I had heard, it wouldn’t have been in my house. We need to get this out of our homes and school computer labs.

Using Dust Off isn’t new and some “professionals” do know about. It just isn’t talked about much, except by the kids. They know about it.

April 2nd was 1 month since Kyle died. April 5th would have been his 15th birthday. And every weekday I catch myself sitting on the living room couch at 2:30 in the afternoon and waiting to see him get off the bus. I know Kyle is in heaven but I cant help but wonder If I died and went to Hell.

Jeff

Article From teendrugabuse.us

Easy access to chemicals makes huffing a popular alternative for teens. Inhalants effect the biological and neurobiological involvement by abusing brain receptors in the neurotransmitter system. These areas of the brain change by an action of the different chemicals, which are facilitated by inhaling or breathing in enough molecular levels to change the biological influences, which leads to intoxication.

There are one thousand common household products that can be used for intoxicating proposes. These volatile chemicals such as Toluene and other fumes, can be inhaled and offer a rush that lasts for forty five minutes or more. These products are legal, inexpensive, and easy to get. Studies have shown that it is easy to walk into any hardware store and walk out with a can of paint thinner, or any other chemical that can be used to get high by huffing.

The following are some known substances that are categorized as being abused by inhalation:
•    Hydrocarbons
•    Nitrites
•    Anesthetics
•    Alcohol
•    Halogen compounds
•    Airplane glue
•    Scotch-guard
•    Pam cooking sprays
•    Carbon tetrachloride - used in swimming pools
•    Gasoline
•    Paint thinner
•    Butane
•    White out or correction fluid
•    Colored markers

There are other items too numerous to list, because there are over fourteen hundred known substances that are categorized as a capable substance that can be abused by huffing.

Teen Drug Abuse Intervention
Help fight teen drug abuse, we provide information to help fight teen drug abuse by prevention and intervention.
http://www.teendrugabuse.us

Suicide is the third leading cause teens, but teenagers and their parents underestimate the risk or think that it doesn’t happen in their own communities, a new study shows.

Researchers conducted focus groups with parents and teens living in urban, suburban, or rural areas in an effort to better understand their attitudes and perceptions regarding adolescent suicide.
They found that parents and teenagers were able to identify many of the most common risk factors for suicide, including depression, alcohol and drug abuse, and relationship problems.

But both groups also tended to underestimate the risk in their own backyards, believing instead that it was a problem in other communities, says study researcher Kimberly A. Schwartz, MD, of UMass Memorial Children’s Medical Center in Worcester, Mass.

“The thinking was that it might happen over there, but it doesn’t happen to us,” she tells WebMD.

Identifying at-Risk Teens

Read Full Story Here

In 2006, 1,771 children and teens between the ages of 10 and 19 committed suicide in the U.S. Teenage boys were four times as likely as teenage girls to die by suicide and they were also more likely to use guns and suffocation to kill themselves. Girls were more likely than boys to use pills.

Among ethnic groups, teenage suicide rates were highest for Native Americans and Alaska Natives, with 15.4 deaths per 100,000 teens. Rates among white, Hispanic, and African-American teens were 4.7, 3.0, and 2.7 per 100,000, respectively.

Schwartz says many of the parents who participated in the focus groups expressed frustration about distinguishing between true warning signs of suicide and normal teen angst.

They recognized that guns and potentially lethal medications should be secured or removed from the homes of teens who are at risk for suicide, but acknowledged that they may have difficulty identifying those teens.

“There seemed to be a disconnect about the importance of securing guns and medications regardless of risk,” Schwartz says.

Both parents and teens wanted more information about how to identify and help at-risk teens.

The study appears in the February issue of Pediatrics.

If you want to learn when someone is at risk of committing suicide and what to do, schools and pediatricians should be able to help, but we can all become better educated through reliable resources on the Web. These authoritative sites list typical signs of suicide risk, and they also provide questions a parent or a friend can ask a teenager to find out if he is considering killing himself. Here are good places to start:

• The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry lists signs and symptoms of suicidal thinking, such as saying things like “I won’t be a problem for you much longer.”
• The American Academy of Pediatrics urges parents to ask the child directly about suicide. “Getting the word out in the open may help your teenager think someone has heard his cries for help.”
• The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides free advice to someone considering suicide, as well as to friends and relatives, at 800-273-TALK.
• The National Alliance on Mental Illness’s teenage suicide page makes the point that talking with someone about suicide will not “give them the idea.” “Bringing up the question of suicide and discussing it without showing shock or disapproval is one of the most helpful things you can do,” the NAMI site says. “This openness shows that you are taking the individual seriously and responding to the severity of his or her distress.”

Tips from theantidrug.com

Chase Bank is giving away one million dollars. TWLOHA is a finalist. We’ve had to create a proposal around a need, a plan and an outcome. We’re partnering with Kristin Brooks Hope Center - the founders of 1-800-SUICIDE - which has answered more than three million crisis calls over the last decade. We’re working with KBHC to launch IMAlive, a live online crisis network. All of the details are listed at the link below. In short, we believe we have the opportunity to bring hope and help to thousands with this. We believe we can lower the suicide rate in America and around the world by meeting people where they are - online.

It’s easy, fast and free to vote

For you tweeters

Vote anytime between now and Friday (1/22).

The Sharpness by *NazXean on deviantART

Found a great article on psychologytoday.com:

Middle school years have never been easy ones for kids, but girls today are having a particularly tough time. The suicide rate for girls ages 10 to 14 increased a whopping 76 percent in 2004, according to the latest numbers available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For those between 15 and 18, the rate went up more than 30 percent.

Alan Berman, a psychologist and director of the American Association of Suicidology in Washington D.C., says although the increase is worrisome, it could be just a random fluctuation. But child and adolescent psychologists report that the prevalence of self-harming behaviors—like cutting and burning—is also rising.

Steve Hinshaw, a clinical and developmental psychologist at the University of California, Berkeley, believes a combination of cultural and parental pressures is to blame. His book, The Triple Bind: Saving Our Teenage Girls from Today’s Pressures, argues that girls today are subjected to unrealistic pressures from society and the media, and their once-private identity struggles are now public, thanks to the Internet. Girls are still socialized to be nurturing caregivers but are now pressured to excel academically and athletically as much as boys—all while remaining thin, sexy, and beautiful.

Female role models, Hinshaw says, are “ultra-sexy, ultra-feminized women, like the female surgeons on Grey’s Anatomy or swimsuit-modeling tennis players” like Ana Ivanovic. Long gone are the days when girls revered women like Dorothy Hamill, Joan Baez, or Gloria Steinem. Now every preteen aspires to be Gabriella Montez, the lead female character in Disney’s High School Musical franchise, who is not only sexy but a Broadway-caliber dancer and singer and a soon-to-be freshman at Stanford.

Girls feeling pressure to achieve often go frenetically from one activity to the next, leaving little time to develop coping skills, laments Alec Miller, chief of child and adolescent psychology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. “They don’t have unstructured time to just hang out with friends,” he says. “Yet this is when kids learn how to tolerate frustration, regulate emotions, and solve problems.”

They also lack the privacy needed to work through the emotional struggles of adolescence because of cell phones, instant messaging, and social networking sites. “Let’s say things aren’t going well in middle or high school and you email someone about it,” Hinshaw says. “Soon it’s all over everyone else’s email, text messages, MySpace, Facebook. Everyone knows what’s going on in your life and they’re all talking about it. You can’t escape it.” —Eilene Zimmerman
Parental Control - What can parents do about the increasing pressures on young girls? Miller advises cutting down extracurricular activities and turning off the computer and cell phone so kids have time just being with themselves: “They should not be continuously connected, because they need time with their own thoughts.” Hinshaw says the answer may be in getting middle-schoolers to think about something other than themselves, like ecology, politics, or community service: “They need a connection to something deeper than themselves, their friends, and their appearance.”

I have heard a lot of discussion lately about these Pro-Anorexia websites lately.  A lot of people believe they should be illegal because they are a danger to the people who frequent them.  Aonorexia is one of those topics that, while serious, you don’t often see being discussed on tech news sites. But like everything else, instructional information about how to maintain an anorexic lifestyle has made its way onto the Internet. Pro-ana has become so popular online that entire communities have formed around such sites, with users sharing tips, providing emotional support, and encouraging each other on their impossible quests for “perfect” bodies.

Some politicians in France believe that those who run pro-anorexia websites should face fines and jail time for promoting an unhealthy lifestyle of excessive thinness. But trying to crack down on these sites not only appears impossible, but counterproductive.

From wikipedia:

Pro-ana refers to the promotion of anorexia nervosa as a lifestyle choice rather than an eating disorder. It is often referred to simply as “ana” and is sometimes affectionately personified by anorexics as a girl named Ana. The lesser-used term pro-mia refers likewise to bulimia nervosa and is sometimes used interchangeably with pro-ana.  Pro-ana organizations differ widely in their stances. Most claim that they exist mainly as a non-judgmental environment for anorexics a place to turn to discuss their illness, and support those who choose to enter recovery. Others deny anorexia nervosa is a mental illness and claim instead that it is a “lifestyle choice” that should be respected by doctors and family.

A Chicago-area psychotherapist who works with adolescents who have eating disorders;  confirms that eating disorders can be increased by putting girls who suffer from them into group settings with fellow sufferers. “Girls that struggle with anorexia are extremely competitive with each other,” she says, “so groups in general have been contraindicated for their treatment. It spikes the behavior when they get around each other, they start trying to outdo each other in degrees of skinniness.”

While banning these websites might seem to be an appropriate response the issue of Freedom of Speech automatically comes into play.  There is a point, though where someone needs to step in and protect the kids that are going on this site and finding strength in numbers to promote their negative and dangerous eating disorders.

Pro-ana websites present exactly this sort of scenario. “Having the websites offline would diminish access to a worldview that is deemed by scientists and psychologists to be incredibly unhealthy, one that can compromise [girls'] health in a very strong way and shorten their lifespans significantly,” says DeVries.

But controlling such sites runs into freedom of speech issues in most democracies; and as the RCP notes, “making them illegal would lead to criminalizing a vulnerable group of young people,” since most sites are set up by people who have an eating disorder themselves.

Instead, the RCP recommends that pro-ana and pro-mia sites become a part of the government’s action plan for Child Internet Safety, which encourages industry self-regulation and education for parents and teachers.

Read Article Here

A more effective approach to dealing with pro-ana sites might not be censorship, but education and support services, providing more positive health information, both online and off, for young people struggling with body image issues.

Many cities and states are rapidly banning the act of texting while driving. If you are guilty of the occasional text while you drive, this article concerns you. Although we do not advocate drinking and driving, a text while driving does not have a consumption scale to use as a guide to decide if you drive, and one text message is all it takes to impact a driver’s focus. Many adults and teens hold entire conversations via text while they drive. The potential for something bad to happen as a result of this action is real. While there are many dangers associated with any driving distraction, text messaging has become very popular, and people of all ages are guilty of trying to text while driving. If you ask and they are not too embarrassed to admit to a situation, most people who have ever done so have a near accident experience they can share as a result of texting while driving.

Please do not allow yourselves to be distracted while driving, and please don’t text and drive. It’s not just the teens who hit the text button. Many adults text while driving for both personal and business reasons. Texting includes reading and responding to e-mail if you have a phone that can do so. Some companies have made it against company policy to text and drive while working or when driving a company vehicle. Since text bans are not yet nationwide, many companies are updating policies because they recognize the dangers associated with this issue, not to mention potential liabilities.

Even at a slow speed of 35 mph, a sudden impact to another vehicle, object or individual can be deadly. Parents who text while they have their children in the car are setting a poor example and need to change this behavior immediately. How important can a message be when you are driving? If you are meeting a friend, plan ahead and do not rely on texting to find a parking spot near one another. Agree to meet in an area of the parking lot and talk face to face to decide where to park. Better yet, agree to park as far out in the mall parking lot as possible and walk in together. You can talk about so many more details of a subject than what you would have been able to say in a text or two.

The costs of texting and driving can be very high. Some cities have fines upward of $650.00 if you are ticketed for this offense. It can also be expected that if you are at fault in an accident, your insurance rates will go up. If you have a fender bender, the insurance deductible to repair your car will also be out of your wallet. You could also face losses that are too terrible to fathom. The cost of a life is not worth the cost of one of the allowances from your text message bundle.

Text messaging is a good thing. Text messaging while driving is not. Please don’t text and drive.

Tabitha  Read More

When I was in high school I used to steal whiskey from my parents gallon jugs of Kentucky Gentlemen. I’d fill up a jar, put the lid on and drink it on the way to the bus stop and in the bathrooms in between classes. I did this for my whole 10th grade year. My parents were clueless. I also used to sneak out the window at midnight and stay out until 4 or 5 in the morning so I could hang out with my boyfriend who I wasn’t allowed to see (my parents found out we were having sex and told me to pretend he was on a 6 month deployment (Navy dad)) I took speed most of my junior and senior year in high school (I loved it because I lost weight), smoked pot and tried cocaine. Every time I’d get caught doing something I’d be put on restriction for a month and then I’d go right back to what I was doing before. I wonder if my mom and dad every tried to stop and figure out why I needed to be trashed in order to feel good about myself. I was a miserable teen. I hung out with the popular kids but I was so shy that I had to get high in order to have fun, talk - I couldn’t do hardly anything without getting a buzz first. Looking back I think it was obvious how miserable I was but there were 6 kids in my family so it was probably overlooked. I think these days there is a lot more material for parents, to help them help their kids. I am going to try my hardest to keep up with everything my kids are doing so I can help them through the rough spots and maybe they won’t feel the need to get high or practice unsafe behaviors. Here are a list of some of the risky teen trends today.

Pharmaceutical products

Usage of prescription medicines as a means to getting high is the fastest growing form of drug use in the USA, Mr. Krieger explained. Unfortunately the so called “pharming parties” have become popular among American youth. In these parties, participants bring with them whatever pills they can find in the medicine cabinets of their homes. Kids will place the pills in a big bowl and each person ingests an assortment of the pill mix and waits for the unknown effect to set in. Inadvertently parents and grandparents have become “a great source of drugs” with often serious consequences. Mr. Krieger urges parents to discard all unused and unneeded medicine and keep those medicines that they have to use in a secure place out of reach of their adolescent children.

The other common medicine cabinet item that is abused is cough syrup such as Robitussin DM. DM stands for Dextromethorphan which is an opioid agent used as a cough suppressant. Other cold medicines that can produce the effect of a high are those that contain the narcotic codeine or hydrocodone. In large quantities, these substances can cause hallucinations, seizures and neurological damage.

Sometimes teens mix Robitussin and alcohol. A half a bottle of Robitussin and a bottle of beer can produce the same effect as drinking an entire six pack, Mr. Krieger said.

Inhalants

According to the 1996 report by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, one in five American teens have used inhalants to get high. Inhalant abuse starts often in grade school. Most households have a large variety of potential sniffing material, such as solvents (paint thinners, gasoline, glue, correction fluid and markers) and gases (butane lighters, propane tanks, spray paints, whipping cream aerosols, deodorants etc.)

Sniffing can cause brain, liver, heart and kidney damage. More seriously inhalant abuse can cause a “Sudden Sniffing Death” (SSD.)

Mr. Krieger provided examples of common inhalant using methods, such as painting sleeves with markers and holding the sleeve near the face. Parents should pay attention to chemical odors on clothing and paint marks on faces.

Stimulants

Another growing trend among adolescents and college students is the consumption of energy drinks such as Red Bull or Rockstar. These drinks contain high dosages of caffeine as well as multiple other chemicals and botanical extracts that can cause a toxic cocktail especially if consumed in high quantities or with other caffeine and alcoholic drinks.

There are even energy drinks that are packaged to attract younger children. Some energy drinks are also advertised with open references to other more serious stimulants such as cocaine or ecstasy.

Mr. Krieger said that he is concerned with young people consuming large quantities of these drinks. The other reason for his concern is that energy drinks are often used before sporting events. High dosages of caffeine have been linked to abnormal heart rhythms and nausea.

According to a 2003 John Hopkins University study, the average daily intake of caffeine is 280 milligrams among the general population. Daily usage as low as 100 can lead to physical dependence, Mr. Krieger said.

One of the most dangerous stimulants, heroin, can be obtained easily. According to Mr. Krieger, New Jersey is the leading state in the United States for heroin availability. The purity rate of heroin sold today ranges from 40 to 95% while in the 50’s and 60’s the purity rate was approximately 5%.

Red flag behavior

Mr. Krieger explained that a male brain does not reach full maturity until a person reaches his late 20’s, while the female brain matures a couple of years earlier. Therefore, substances used at a young age such as alcohol and drugs affect the brain while it is still developing. The ‘not yet mature’ brain may also reduce the full understanding of risky behavior and its consequences.

Besides drugs and alcohol there are numerous other ways adolescents make bad decisions.

One example of risky behavior among teens is “the choking game” in which kids are seeking to alter their consciousness by choking themselves, thus cutting off the oxygen flow to the brain. This high is achieved by releasing the choke hold just before passing out.

Mr. Krieger said that many hanging deaths among youths have been classified as suicides although they may have been a result of the choking game. Other behaviors that should alert parents are cutting and various types of “body art.” Parents should also monitor their children’s Internet use as well as the content of the video games.

Although teen years are a step to more independence, adolescents need their parents’ presence to guide them to make the right choices, Mr. Krieger said. He urged parents to engage their children in social interaction and conversation as well as to keep vigilant for any signs of risky behavior.

What is panic disorder? The symptoms are almost the same for kids as they are for adults. Children and adolescents with panic disorder have repeated periods of intense fear and panic that appear to come from nowhere and for no good reason. Other symptoms

include a racing heartbeat, a feeling of shortness of breath and sometimes a fear of going crazy. These symptom episodes are called panic attacks and can last from a few minutes to several hours.

They usually occur without warning. Additional symptoms can include:

An episode of intense fear that something terrible is happening or is about to happen,

Racing heartbeat; intense palpitations, sometimes wrongly labeled as a heart attack,

Dizziness or lightheadedness,

shortness of breath or smothering sensations,

Trembling, shaking, panicky sensations,

Feeling of being outside of reality, a foreboding eeriness and feeling of danger,

A fear of dropping dead, losing control, or going crazy.

More than 3 million Americans will suffer from the symptoms of panic disorder at some point in their life. It frequently has its onset during adolescence, although occasionally it begins during childhood. Genetics might play a role because there are times it seems to run in families.

Panic disorder and its very troubling symptoms can devastate ones sense of well-being and quality of life. These predatory-like attacks can interfere with your child or teenagers relationships, ability to focus and concentrate and ability to be mobile and go places with their friends. Kids with untreated panic disorder may begin to feel nervous or fearful much of the time, even during those times when they do not experience symptoms.

Often, sufferers start to avoid situations where they fear an attack may occur and do not want to go places where help may be inaccessible. For example, your child may be hesitant to attend school, go on normal social outings or be separated from you.

As symptoms worsen, he or she may even be afraid to leave home. Agoraphobia is the diagnosis used when a panic disorder sufferer feels so terrified of having an anxiety attack in public, that he or she does not want to leave the safety of home.

This is a very hard way to live: Kids with panic disorder can also develop severe depression and may be at risk for suicidal behavior. Even more worrisome, is that in order to decrease anxiety, some teens with this disorder will resort to medicating themselves with alcohol or drugs.

Your kid will be starting life way behind his or her peers if the panic disorder is not recognized and treated. However, it can be difficult to diagnose in children. Unfortunately, this may lead to excessive visits to doctors and multiple orders for tests which are expensive and sometimes, painful.

The good news is, however, that when properly diagnosed, panic disorder usually responds well to treatment. If any of your kids have symptoms of panic attacks he or she should first be evaluated by your family physician or pediatrician. If no physical illness or condition is found, then you should obtain a comprehensive evaluation by a clinical psychologist or other mental health professional.

There are various treatments that can be utilized effectively. For example, specific medications may stop or reduce the intensity or frequency of panic attacks. Psychotherapy may also help your child; you and other members of your family learn ways to reduce the stress or tension that might otherwise trigger an attack.

Through cognitive behavioral counseling, your child can also be taught new ways to control the anxiety or panic attack symptoms when they occur. Kids and teens often respond well to a combination of medication and counseling.

As a parent, it is your responsibility to see that your child is evaluated, properly diagnosed and treated appropriately. Remember that panic attacks can be effectively treated and their early treatment can prevent more severe complications, such as agoraphobia, depression, plummeting self-esteem and substance abuse.

Yellowribbon.org — Please Visit

Suicide Prevention Hotline

Befrienders.org

Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance

TWLOHA - To Write Love On Her Arms

TEENS - If you or someone you know is considering suicide or are
experiencing another emotional crisis, you may call:

1-800-273-TALK (800-273-8255)

Self-harm scares people.  Friends and loved ones of people who self-injure often feel frightened, isolated, and helpless. Sometimes they resort to demands or ultimatums as a way of trying to regain some control over the situation, only to see things deteriorate further.

MYTHS -

Self-harm is usually a failed suicide attempt.
This myth persists despite a wealth of studies showing that, although people who self-injure may be at a higher risk of suicide than others, they distinguish betwen acts of self-harm and attempted suicide. Many, if not most, self-injuring people who make a suicide attempt use means that are completely different to their preferred methods of self-inflicted violence.

People who self-injure are crazy and should be locked up.
Tracy Alderman, Ph.D., author of The Scarred Soul, addressed this:

“Fear can lead to dangerous overreactions. In dealing with clients who hurt themselves, you will probably feel fear. . . . Hospitalizing clients for self-inflicted violence is one such form of overreaction. Many therapists, because they do not possess an adequate understanding of SIV, will use extreme measures to assure (they think) their clients’ best interests. However, few people who self-injure need to be hospitalized or institutionalized. The vast majority of self-inflicted wounds are neither life threatening nor require medical treatment. Hospitalizing a client involuntarily for these issues can be damaging in several ways. Because SIV is closely related to feelings of lack of control and overwhelming emotional states, placing someone in a setting that by its nature evokes these feelings is very likely to make matters worse, and may lead to an incident of SIV. In addition, involuntary hospitalization often affects the therapeutic relationship in negative ways, eroding trust, communication, rapport, and honesty. Caution should be used when assessing a client’s level of threat to self or others. In most cases, SIV is not life threatening. . . . Because SIV is so misunderstood, clinicians often overreact and provide treatment that is contraindicated.

People who self-harm are just trying to get attention.
A wise friend once emailed me a list of attention-seeking behaviors: wearing nice clothing, smiling at people, saying “hi”, going to the check-out counter at a store, and so on. We all seek attention all the time; wanting attention is not bad or sick. If someone is in so much distress and feel so ignored that the only way he can think of to express his pain is by hurting his body, something is definitely wrong in his life and this isn’t the time to be making moral judgments about his behavior.
That said, most poeple who self-injure go to great lengths to hide their wounds and scars. Many consider their self-harm to be a deeply shameful secret and dread the consequences of discovery.

Self-inflicted violence is just an attempt to manipulate others.
Some people use self-inflicted injuries as an attempt to cause others to behave in certain ways, it’s true. Most don’t, though. If you feel as though someone is trying to manipulate you with SI, it may be more important to focus on what it is they want and how you can communicate about it while maintaining appropriate boundaries. Look for the deeper issues and work on those.

Only people with Borderline Personality Disorder self-harm.
Self-harm is a criterion for diagnosing BPD, but there are 8 other equally-important criteria. Not everyone with BPD self-harms, and not all people who self-harm have BPD (regardless of practitioners who automatically diagnose anyone who self-injures with BPD).

If the wounds aren’t “bad enough,” self-harm isn’t serious.
The severity of the self-inflicted wounds has very little to do with the level of emotional distress present. Different people have different methods of SI and different pain tolerances. The only way to figure out how much distress someone is in is to ask. Never assume; check it oput with the person.

Only teen-aged girls self-injure.
In five years of existence, the bodies-under-siege email list has had members of both genders, from six continents, and ranging in age from 14-60+. It’s a person-who-has-no-other-way-to-cope thing, not a teenage (or female or American or whatever) thing.”

I think the most important way in which others can help self-harmers is by listening and not judging them. It is often very hard to even try and contemplate why a person would ever want to deliberately injure themselves and if it is someone you care about it can be very distressing and frustrating for all involved and it is ok to seek help from others yourself in helping the self-harmer.

There are a number of online resources for those who have friends or relatives who self-harm where they can receive support and help in coming to terms with others harming behaviour but here are a few simple ways you can help.

If someone has told you that they self-harm then it is because they trust you! This is often the biggest step for us because self-harm is not something we are proud of and often we go to great lengths to hide it. You’re probably not aware of how much of a relief it was for that person to have finally told someone so in a big way you have already helped. You have also taken the time by coming here to try and understand and learn more which is also a very good thing; it shows that you care and that is above all a supportive thing to be doing.

It is important not to be sickened by a person who self-harm’s purely because you don’t understand, they are still the same person you knew before you found out they harmed themselves and so it shouldn’t be seen as a whole seperate entity which needs to be immediately banished in order for you to continue loving them.

Self-harmers are often scared that when people find out they will ‘disown’ them and threaten to walk away if they don’t stop immediately; this is an unrealistic burden on a person as self-harm is in many ways an addiction, it is doubtful that they want to harm themselves, they feel they need to for whatever reason and would probably have preferred to have stopped rather than admit the problem to anyone. Threatening the self-harmer will do nothing other than isolate them further and probably stop them from confiding in you again so however much you want to scare the person into quitting you probably won’t.

If you have found out by accident that a friend or relative hurts themselves the worst thing you can do is hound them about it! If they want to discuss it with you they will in their own time and by relentlessly questioning them about it you are further backing up the belief they may already have that they are strange or alone. Self-harm is a private act and making someone who doesn’t want to talk about it discuss it with you you are intruding in their own personal space in the same way that there are things you may not want to discuss with others. Make it clear that you are always willing to listen and help without judging but please don’t intrude because you may well alienate them further!

It may be tempting to rush the person who harms themselves straight off to the doctor/psychiatrist/counsellor/local psychiatric ward but that is rarely the answer. People seem to believe that the medical profession can instantly cure anything but this is not the case with issues such as these. If the person wants to see a psychiatrist then fine, but you should not force this upon them because it will undoubtedly be ineffective as therapy where one party in incooperative is impossible. I have encountered countless younger people who have been dragged off to therapy the minute their parents found out they self-harmed and the overwhelming feelings are of resentment, anger and fear. Believe me the thought of having to discuss your feelings with a complete stranger is hard enough when you have made your own personal choice to let alone when you don’t have a choice about whether you want to or not. Psychiatry and drugs have had little success in dealing with self-harm so as much as you may want to get that kind of help for your friend or relative and as much as you may think it’s ‘for their own good’ please reconsider and instead ask them what they would like you to do for them.

What Is Not Helpful

• Ordering them to stop it.
  
• Watching them.
  
• Taking away their privacy. (Taking the door off of their room, etc.)
  
• Taking away their razors and all sharp objects.
  
• Making them feel even more abnormal by saying things like, “You need help. You are sick. That is not normal.”
  
• Rejecting that part of them. Not accepting their behavior.
  
• Threatening them - such as with being sent to the hospital

Links For Help -

The Wish Centre - Girls Xpress! self harm group

Girlshealth.gov

General Self-injury Resources

S.A.F.E. alternatives (Self-Abuse Finally Ends) – Blog and news for individuals who cause self-injuries. Information Line: 1-800-DONT CUT (Self-injury.com)

Education about self injury – Provides simple and clear definitions of what self-injury is, myths and information about why people injure themselves. (American Self-Harm Information Clearinghouse)

Self-injury coping skills – Describes many things you can do to help cope with the self-injuring tendencies and provides helpful resources for recovery, information, and support. (Self-injury support)

Adolescent self-harm – Provides a brief overview and also includes suggestions for parents on addressing self-injury with their child. There is also a list of books available on the subject. {American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (AAMFT)}

Help for family and friends – Lets self-injurers know that they are NOT alone and provides information to help their friends and family (Self-injury.net)

uncertainty by ~psychopatheticCHING on deviantART

In my outpatient counseling job I see many teenagers turning to drugs and cutting themselves though only a portion go to adolescent drug rehab programs. As I delve into issues with them at the outpatient mental health clinic I work at, the main issues seem to revolve around friendships, boyfriends, family tensions and academic pressures.

It is easy to discount a teen’s worries and tell them worrying about a boyfriend at age fourteen isn’t important. But, it is to a teen and rejection can be very painful. As adults we are often good at building defenses and a wall, but many teens are vulnerable. Plus, they don’t have many of the outlets that adults have when things are stressful. For instance, as an adult, we can jump in the car and take a ride, drive to the mall to shop, plan a girls night out to forget trouble etc. A teenager often can’t drive and has limited escape options for mental health. There isn’t the luxury of running to a pilates class or getting a massage to try to regain mental peace.

Of course, teens do have ways to diffuse stress such as the internet, cell phone calls, texting and listening to music. Still, if the issues revolve around their friends or dates, many of the same people are interacting and it may just re-inforce the painfulness of the original interaction. If there is additional strain with the family then there just may not be any way it seems to feel good. Adolescent drug rehab can help if the problem gets out of control. If it is occassional use, it’s important to help the person find other ways to feel good which can include exercise that releases endorphins, creative activities like drawing and music or relaxation techniques through tai-chi, meditation and yoga.

If there are family pressures that are the source of the drug problem, brainstorm about an aunt or uncle that the teen can visit for a weekend to just get a new environment. This can help to get a break from each other. It often is hard for teens to open up and one way that is useful for parents is to talk about oneself honestly and an issue that one had and overcame. Don’t be preachy or give a lecture but talk about your own vulnerability, how you felt stuck and the difficult points. This is often why al-anon, aa and other twelve step groups work well because people are able to hear others experiences and understand their process, insights and trials.

Stop by Adolescent Drug Rehab for tips on teenagers and alcoholism at http://www.drug-and-alcohol-rehab-info.com/addiction/index.php/resisting-drinking/

I’m a huge supporter of this group - I wrote a post earlier if you want to Read More

They will be having a Live Webcast on October 5th - Here is some info I found on Myspace -

“Non-Profit OrganizationTO WRITE LOVE ON HER ARMSHosts Live Global Webcast Monday, October 5thFrom Their Florida HeadquartersFeaturing Conversation and Performances ByDamion Suomi and Andy ZipfNew York, NY – September 28, 2009 – To Write Love on Her Arms is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery. On October 5th the TWLOHA team will expand their outreach by launching a global outlet for honest conversation and community fused with music by Damion Suomi and Andy Zipf.All the world will be invited to see inside the TWLOHA headquarters via SynchLive. Click here to watch: www.twloha.com/webcastFor 1 week after the webcast, fans can download free music from Damion Suomi and Andy Zipf here:www.twloha.com/webcast“Music is something mysterious in that it has many faces. For the person singing, it is their therapy, their story. For the person listening, it is their inspiration, their hope. The goal is for the conversations that happen in between the songs to be as real and honest as the songs themselves. We are attempting to create an environment where people from all over are invited into a conversation about pain and about hope, but ultimately about redemption. We are inviting people locally, and all over the world through the webcast, to come hang out inside TWLOHA HQ for a couple of hours and have such a conversation. We believe that Hope is given a chance to show up in settings like these,” says Rich Sullivan of To Write Love on Her Arms.“There is a line in TWLOHA’s vision statement that says ‘Beyond treatment, we believe that community is essential, that people need other people, that we were never meant to do life alone.’ It took me a long time, but I now understand what that means. There can be so much healing found in a conversation, in songs, and in just being honest with one another,” says artist Damion Suomi.Damion Suomi and Andy Zipf are both artists on the charity minded record label P is for Panda. The label has offered to give away music off Damion’s recent 2009 release Self Titled, as well as music from Andy Zipf’s upcoming record, Our Voice is a Weapon, to coincide with the event.“I am thrilled that TWLOHA have asked two of the Panda bands to be involved in their first ever webcast. When I dreamt about starting P is for Panda, I wanted to work with artists who did not only want to create art, but also wanted to be involved with the bigger picture. I wanted to partner with artists who shared the passion of helping others. Who believed that this world is a community and we can use our individual talents to help. Teaming up with TWLOHA is a perfect example of what this looks like, ”says Chad Pearson owner of P is for Panda.In an effort to extend the conversation of the evening to people around the world, everyone will have the opportunity to send their questions for Damion and Andy via Twitter by replying to @TWLOHA. Questions will be chosen at random and Damion and Andy will respond to them live during the webcast.TWLOHA began in February 2006, when founder Jamie Tworkowski wrote a story, a glimpse into a friend’s life and her first steps to recovery from drug addiction, self-injury, and depression. The story, titled To Write Love On Her Arms, along with the t-shirts Tworkowski printed to help pay for his friend’s recovery, started a movement, not only within his local Orlando, FL community, but one that was swiftly embraced by people everywhere. Many bands (Paramore, Thrice, Anberlin, Switchfoot, Bayside, The Almost) quickly picked up the message, informed their fans, and started finding new ways to donate to the cause and help out.For more on To Write Love on Her Arms:”

Fuck Love by ~fuckedupnightmare on deviantART

Self mutilation is very difficult to understand from the prospective of people who have never experienced the behavior themselves. For family members or friends of someone who self mutilates, it is terrifying, confusing, and frustrating.

There are various definitions of self mutilation, and even plenty of names for this type of behavior. The self mutilation referred to in this article involves the direct and deliberate destruction or alteration of the body. This type of self mutilation is sometimes referred to as self harm, or self injury. Examples of self harming behaviors include cutting, burning, needle sticking, and severe scratching. The person who is doing this usually does not want to commit suicide. I for one, who used to be a cutter, did want to, because I was afraid of the consequences I would have after I died.

Research has shown that individuals who engage in self harm are usually not trying to kill themselves when they engage in the behavior, although some may report that they have mixed feelings about the intent of the acts. This is not to say that people who engage in self mutilation are not suicidal; many people who self mutilate also have suicidal thoughts or even make suicide attempts. In addition, in cases of very severe self mutilation, people have died from their injuries. But, self mutilation usually serves a different purpose than attempt at killing one’s self.

Many believe that people engage in self mutilation to get attention. This is a myth. Most people who self harm do it in private and make sure that the location of the injury is one that cannot be seen. They are also often ashamed of the behavior and keep it a secret. This sort of secrecy and shame about the behavior suggests that it is certainly not meant to manipulate others or to garner attention. Of course, there are some people who report that they self mutilate for attention, but they are in a very small minority.

Research has shown that most people self mutilate in order to help regulate internal experiences such as emotions, thoughts, memories, and physical sensations. People who self mutilate report that they do this behavior to escape from emotional pain, release anger, slow racing thoughts, end episodes of dissociation, or have a sense of control. In fact, for many people who self harm, the behavior probably serves many different purposes depending on what experience they are having at the time.

Unfortunately, self mutilation is not an uncommon behavior. For example, one study found that about 40% of college students have engaged in self mutilation at least once, and about 10% have engaged in self mutilation 10 or more times. There is evidence that men and women engage in self mutilation at equal rates.

People who have experienced maltreatment during their childhood (sexual abuse or neglect, for example) or who were separated from a caregiver in childhood are at greater risk for self mutilation than the general population. Also, there is evidence the people who experience dissociation are at greater risk for self mutilation.

Most people that self mutilate must go through extensive pshyciatric treatment before being able to stop their actions. Self mutilation is often diagnosed as deprseeion, or manic depression.

To me, people self mutilate because they have no other way to let out their emotions. They are afraid to tell someone of their feelings and hurt emotions, and take it out on themselves….by hurting themselves.

People may cut themselves/self mutilate for these reasons: (Disclaimer: I did not write this; I got it from http://healthmad.com/mental-health/10-reasons-people-cut-themselves/ )

1. Many different people that suffer from different forms of depression, cut after reaching a peak in sorrow. Which is very reasonable. Seeing them bleed reminds them that they are still able to feel something, and that life isn’t over yet.

2. Cry for help: Some people cut themselves to show others they need help in life, they need to find something or someone that can give them a reason for why they should be here. They don’t tell to increase the effectiveness of anyone wanting to help them if they somehow find out.

3. For attention: Many teens or other people cut themselves in hope for attention. In hope that someone will care that they do it. These people are usually the ones that go off and tell everyone that they do it, just so they’ll feel bad for them.

4. It puts them in control:  Some people cut in order to see that they are in control of something. Seeing the blood and feeling the pain shows them they can control at least one thing, which is good positive reinforcement.

5. Many different people think that carving their lovers name into them is a good way of showing them that you love them, and that you’ll go through any amount of pain for them. This isn’t always the best idea. Yes some people do think it’s very passionate and caring, but if they truly love you, they won’t want you to do that to yourself.

6.  To relieve stress: When someone cuts themselves, pain relieving chemicals called Endorphins are released to relieve stress or emotional pain.

7. they like how it looks: Alright, I honestly hate when people do this. They only cut themselves to see how it looks, or the cool patterns they can make. This is possibly one of the worst decisions you can make. If you want to do that, just draw something instead.

8. They feel like they deserve it:  Many people are very self-loathing these days and want to do whatever they can to hurt themselves after making bad decisions. Cutting usually comes into play there.

9. They like the pain: Some people are just truly messed up and like being hurt, so they do things like cutting in order to feel pain. But the truth is, when people cut themselves for reasons that actually make sense, they are too worked up to feel any pain at all.

10. DID: Many people suffer from Dissociative Identity Disorder, meaning they have somewhat of multiple personalities. And the only way they could get through the different problems and different pain, was cutting or self-harming to relieve it all.

Cutting yourself to fit in and be emo is NOT cool. It is disgusting and just…it makes me sick. Cutting yourself is a serious disorder, and when stupid teenagers mock it, it is not cool. It is stupid. so, if you are an ‘emo wannabe’ stop it. Emo is a style and type of music, not a group of lonely kids who cut themselves. So stop.

I hope that from reading this article, you have learned what self mutilation is, and how to accept it and not mock it. It is an extremely serious disorder that many people have. Hopefully, you’ll learn to reach out to these troubled individuals and teach them how to truly cope with their mismatched feelings.

Author:  Charissa

Yes—a person can indeed ‘break down’ suddenly. The human body is a fragile mechanism that, when put under too much stress, will stop functioning normally.

A person exposed to long-term, unrelenting severe stress is particularly vulnerable to experiencing a ‘breakdown.’ How does a breakdown manifest itself? The primary characteristic of a breakdown usually involves some sudden disintegration of the self. This means that an individual who usually follows a set pattern of behaviors will suddenly break away from their routine. Imagine this scenario: a person wakes every morning, goes to work, seems to function normally, visits with friends as usual, and then returns home. Imagine this person suddenly waking one morning and unable to get up. They have lost their drive, their ability to function normally, to communicate with family or friends. Perhaps they are even incapable of dressing or eating. This person is experiencing a nervous breakdown.

What other types of symptoms might be described as those associated with having a nervous breakdown? Some individuals might experience the uncontrollable need to cry, loss of energy, withdrawal, confusion, despair, inability to think clearly, sleep disruption or insomnia, loss of pleasure in everyday activities, feelings of worthlessness and depression. These “down and out” feelings are characteristic of depressive disorders.

Some individuals have breakdowns that manifest symptoms of psychosis. Breakdowns involving psychosis may involve hearing voices, seeing visions, feelings of paranoia, feelings of being pursued, feeling sensations that are not really present, grandiose or delusional behavior, bizarre public behavior, feeling of jealousy, and feelings of violence.

Whatever the nature of the breakdown, all breakdowns have in common the inability to function as normal.

What is a nervous breakdown really? A person who experiences symptoms of a nervous breakdown is suffering from some sort of mental disorder. That is, despite what we used to think, a nervous breakdown in and of itself is not an illness or disease. They are merely symptomatic of a larger problem. In fact, no legitimate physician or mental health professional would ever diagnose someone as having a nervous breakdown.

The characteristics of a nervous breakdown can be symptomatic of a large variety of mental illnesses. The most common illness that resembles these characteristics is a Major Depressive episode. Other disorders that are related to what we think of as a nervous breakdown include panic attacks, generalized anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and other trauma disorders, acute stress disorder, schizophrenia, psychotic disorders, bipolar disorder, depression, and mood disorders. All of these mental disorders are characteristic of what many laypeople would characterize as a nervous breakdown.

Who is most likely to suffer from a nervous breakdown? Almost anyone who is subjected to undue stress is capable of experiencing a nervous breakdown. For instance, any person who has been subjected to extreme stress and trauma is vulnerable to experiencing a disorder that mimics the general perception of a nervous breakdown. For instance, a young person returning from battle may experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

A woman experiencing severe depression after the birth of her child may experience post-partum depression. How can a person suffering any of the characteristics of a nervous breakdown get help? Sometimes the hardest part of recovery is getting the person to visit a doctor. For some kinds of mental disorders, a nervous breakdown can be a blessing in disguise. An individual suffering from severe anxiety or depression may find her self speaking to a psychotherapist for the first time. A person who suffered alone for long time may suddenly find himself getting better with medical attention. In many fortunate cases, the person who experienced the nervous breakdown may emerge from therapy stronger and healthier than ever before. Treatments can include antidepressant and psychotropic medications, psychotherapy, and prescribed periods of rest.

Prevention of nervous breakdowns is an oft-ignored subject that researchers are beginning to study. The characterization of a nervous breakdown as something that happens very suddenly can be misleading. In many cases, symptoms of the coming breakdown are present, but either the individual or their family and friends ignore them. Individuals who sense themselves becoming increasingly stressed, depressed, angry, or violent are encouraged to seek help immediately.

undiscovered by ~lyddie on deviantART

Found this article on NY Daily News

The parents of a British 15-year-old schoolgirl blame “huge pressure” and “modern complexities” of social networking Web sites for the suicide of their teen daughter, The London Times Online reported Monday.

Holly Grogan jumped 30 feet to her death from a bridge last week and was hit by traffic after abusive messages were relentlessly posted onto her Facebook page, according to Times Online.

Her parents, Steve, 45, and Anita, 44, warned other families of the dangers of cyberbullying.

“Holly struggled to cope with the huge pressures placed upon her by the modern complexities of ‘friendship groups’ and social networking,” her parents said in a statement. “Every responsibile parent will empathize with our constant battle to instill self-belief and confidence in our children.”

Holly, who attended St. Edward’s School in Cheltenham, “had the biggest smile in the world,” but was targeted by girls at the Catholic school, said her friend Chloe Davis, 16.

“Girls used to gang up on her and call her names and she didn’t have anything to say back,” Chloe said. “She just froze up. Girls used to bully her on Facebook and leave comments on her wall calling her names. They’ve probably all deleted them now.”

The bullying was so bad at Holly’s first school that she had to switch, said Chloe, who attends Chosen Hill secondary school in Gloucester.

But the abuse didn’t stop.

“I heard that the girls who bullied her at her old school told their friends at her new school to bully her as well, and so it just kept on and on,” Chloe told Times Online. “Apparently there was a girl at her school yesterday who was running around crying because she used to bully her, but she should have thought about that at the time.”

Despite the tragedy, Holly’s parents, and her brother Tom, 17, held on to happy memories of their “beuatiful, kind and caring Holly,” whose “outwardly vivacious zest for life was apparent to all who knew her.”

The Grogans were also found solace through cybermessages of support.

“The family has been greatly comforted by the comments and tributes left on various social networking sites,” the Grogans’ statement said.

Holly’s ordeal and subsequent suicide echoes the tragedy of Megan Meier in Missouri. The 13-year-old MySpace user connected with a group of people who created a fake account in 2006 under the name “Josh Evans.” When one of the fake users, writing as Josh, told Megan the world would be a better place without her, Megan hanged herself in her bedroom.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2009/09/21/2009-09-21_parents_of_holly_grogan_15_blame_facebook_for_teens_suicide.html#ixzz0RzPfmcQH