There are few things sadder and more troubling in this world than seeing a young person’s life cut short, not by an accident or illness, but by their own hand.
And this article in the St. Petersbury Times just brings this all home, reporting on the untimely death of a local teen who decided he had enough with life and hung himself in a local park. The story is a heart-breaking account of a seemingly happy life marred by the specter of depression and feeling the pain intensely, as teenagers often do (as I did when I was his age).
The article doesn’t shed any new insights into depression, teens, or why people choose to commit suicide when all else fails. What it is is a thoughtful remembrance of a young boy’s life. And a troubling reminder that teen suicide — the third leading cause of death amongst teens — can affect anyone, even someone who seemingly has it “all” going on.
(Via Spikol)
Dr. John Grohol is the CEO and founder of Psych Central. He is an author, researcher and expert in mental health online, and has been writing about online behavior, mental health and psychology issues -- as well as the intersection of technology and human behavior -- since 1992. Dr. Grohol sits on the editorial board of the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking and is a founding board member and treasurer of the Society for Participatory Medicine.Like this author?
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Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 31 Aug 2007
Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.
Grohol, J. (2007). Teen’s Suicide Hard to Understand. Psych Central. Retrieved on February 14, 2012, from http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2007/08/31/teens-suicide-hard-to-understand/
