Ai FM: A Casual Talk About Youth Suicides

Good day to all beloved parents and friends, welcome tune in to the sharing session of Ms. Lee Li Li, the consulting psychologist, on the topic of youth suicides, particularly on youths of middle school age.

Youths of middle school age are ought to enjoy their best years of their lives. However, they have become psychologically overwhelming and out of control, which lead them to an irretrievable ending. Once again, youth suicides sound the alarm across society and make us wonder how should we “educate” about lives.

Across the consulting cases of youths who are at middle school age, the youths often start to question about their life during their puberty. Nevertheless, the key question is whether or not that our life education is capable to help these youths stand up to their questions, emptiness and frustrations, so that they are able to understand that there is always a solution to every problem and the most important thing is life.

Youths usually experience dramatic psychological and physiological changes during their puberty, which make them become contradictory and keep to themselves. Particularly, when these internal changes collide with external environment, it will easily trigger extreme behaviours like rebellious behaviour, running away from home, self-injurious behaviour, suicide and more. External environment refers to our interpersonal relationships, including parent-child relationship, teacher-student relationship, and peer relationship. For instance, teacher’s sharp words that hurt the youths’ feeling or the youths are being bullied by peers, both contexts are the possible sources of suicide crisis. However, the focuses are still on life education and parent-child relationship. If the parents are unable to understand the youths so much as misunderstand and discourage them, these factors may cause the youths to feel devastated. Home is a safe haven that fills with warmth, where family members are able to speak freely, show mutual love, and help each other when one is in need. Other than keeping an intimate parent-child relationship with genuine and affective communication, it is also important to involve life education into family in order to help the youths to establish positive values, understand living values, and enhance their inner security.

An increasing number of youth suicides also determine the youths’ cognitive immaturity towards life and its values. On the one hand, teenagers are more likely to have a higher self-presence, on the other hand they are unclear with the true meaning of life. When they fail to feel their self-worth under academic pressure, life pressure or external criticism, they will attempt to ‘resist’ or ‘relieve’ through suicidal behaviour.

Suicide can be roughly divided into:
1. Suicidal thoughts: Suicide appears as an idea without actual actions.
2. Suicidal intention: Strong suicidal intention and it has becomes one of the life goals.
3. Suicide plan: Specific time, place and method of suicide have been set, or even ready with a suicide note or will.
4. Suicide attempt: With actual suicidal behaviour but failed to do so due to being rescued.

Above the four methods, other than the first of the list, the other three methods are listed as dangerous suicidal behaviours. Besides, non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) refers as deliberately injuring oneself without suicidal intent.

In general, as the youths emotionally or psychologically show excessive moodiness, loss interest in activities one previously enjoyed, poor sleeping and eating patterns, withdrawal from social context, extremely low self-evaluation, loss of living and function abilities, little progress or symptoms persist after counselling in school or other counselling centres, it is advisable to refer the youths to hospital or private clinic to receive treatment from psychiatrist, clinical psychologist or other certified medical personnel.

Nothing can really help a person to live on even at the worst situation, unless the person truly realizes one’s life and existence are meaningful.

Source: Radio AiFm 106.7 on 5/10/2018