She had nowhere to hide, so she committed suicide.

Bianca was a bride,
who cried.
When the tears have dried,
it was up to her to decide.
She applied
her makeup and walked outside.
Her feelings needed to be put aside,
so she wouldn’t become a victim of a homicide.
And so they stood side by side,
in the countryside.
Bianca and Braiden were to reside
by the seaside…

I threw this piece together with the help from words rhyming with suicide. As I was nearing its end, I could not decide how I wanted this story to end, so I left it open-ended for interpretation. Feel free to share how YOU think this ends. OK, so now, onto business.

***

The other day, an article really made me wonder. Recent data, published by the CDC, shows that in 2015, the suicide rate of teenage girls was the highest in 40 years. That is not the sort of record we should be striving to achieve. Furthermore, the suicide rate among boys increased over 30% in the time period between 2007 and 2015; the rate for girls DOUBLED. Again, this is not the area in which girls should be “proving” to do “better” than boys…

Suicide is nothing new. We have all heard about girls cutting themselves as a form of “coping” with depression. But in this day and age, where mental health is publicly a topic of interest, where having a counselor is not as stigmatized as before, where we have a vast access to support groups on the Internet, etc… Why? We all struggle in different ways throughout our lives. I do not think that there is a single person in the world, who never thought of potentially ending their own lives. It is a well known alternative, which some of us think of briefly, while others take more time to think of specific means to end their lives.

Researchers believe that there are multiple reasons for the rise in the suicide rate, with the first one being related to our economic standing. Because of the crash during 2007-2009, people might have been in a more difficult financial situation, which led them to such desperate measures. Possibly. When our basic needs (shelter and food) are not being made, the toughest mind starts to crack. When you add your family depending on you to provide, it might prove really taxing. However, the statistics are related to young people (teenagers), so this is not really the reason, in my opinion. The second reason listed by the experts, is one which I think is especially harmful for teenagers and young adults, nowadays – smartphones. When I was growing up, there was one kind of bullying – the face to face one. Now, you have to add the virtual bullying. Teenagers’ social media image is of the utmost importance to them, so any negative comment (or even the absence of positive ones) can make a young mind question their worth. With all the perfection they are bombarded on TV screens, on Facebook, or Instagram, their own imperfection can be hard to swallow. Whatever you post on the Internet remains there forever.

Life gets tough. Things do not always go our way, but we need to learn to dust ourselves off and to carry on, even if it is just to fight another day. We need to learn to care for ourselves, and for those around us. Depression is not a joke. But why do I sense a “trend” of depression in the past few years? Mental health is very important, and it is being demystified in every field of our lives. We praise those who “won”, or who have not gave in to ending their life. We support those who are going through tough times, which we should continue doing. However, making it known that depression is a prevalent issue, prompts people to wonder if maybe THEY are depressed themselves, which leads to realizing that they do have something to be upset about; everyone does. Once there is a single crack in our mind, and we do not fight to fix it, it is only time before there are more.

We need to remember that we should be ACTIVELY preventing depression every day. If we do not consciously make the effort to keep our minds healthy, it will be too late before we know it. However, if you do find yourself down that slippery slope, make sure you get some help. Even YOU can help yourself. You only need to be recognize the issue and be willing to work on it. If you are unable to, reach out to your confidants, to various online support groups, etc. Teenage suicides sadden me, because they are at an age when most of their problems are not as life-or-death as they seem to be. They have their whole lives ahead to collide with big issues. Teenagers should live their lives, have fun, be carefree. If you have a young individual in your surrounding, make sure that you form a positive relationship with them, so they can come to you in time of need, so you can potentially save a life, and that so can they…sometime in the future…

***

I found this interesting site with many facts related to suicide, some of which I found rather interesting. Feel free to take a look at tell me which one was the most shocking/ surprising/ saddening/etc. for you.