Do you know a teenager who is moody or agitated, acting recklessly, sleeping too little or too much, or talking about feeling trapped? Has your child, student, or friend started to give away treasured belongings, is withdrawing, or just really behaving out of character? If so, you may want to ask outright about suicidal thoughts. Now is the time to act, say the experts.<\/p>\n
Suicide rates have been rising in nearly every US state\u2014and the rise is most stark among teenagers and adolescents.<\/p>\n
In 2016, nearly 45,000 Americans age 10 or older died by suicide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While the rise affects every age group under 75, the strongest increase lies in the rate for girls between the ages of 10 and 14.<\/p>\n
Researchers and clinicians have been working hand in hand to try to stem the tide of teen suicide, among them experts at the University of Rochester and the Medical Center.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt does feel like we have our fingers on the pulse of a crisis,\u201d says Kathleen Baynes<\/a>, an assistant professor of psychiatry and a psychiatrist at UR Medicine Mental Health & Wellness<\/a>. Baynes notes that her department is experiencing not only a greater volume of cases, but more complex ones as well. \u201cWe\u2019re seeing more comorbid psychiatric issues\u2014someone experiencing depression and another issue, like an eating disorder or substance use, someone who\u2019s in a crisis around bullying, or loss of a family contact, a death in the family, bereavement, and on top of that, struggling with social anxiety.\u201d<\/p>\n