By: Maddie T., Brooke B., Tate D.
Suicide and mental illnesses may be uncomfortable to talk about, but it is necessary subject. Many teens at Sycamore suffer from anxiety and depression but are looked over. We interviewed Ginny Falls, Caroline Smart, Emily Purvis, SSMS Teacher, and La’Donna Caroselli, SSMS Counselor, to find out what people think when they hear the word mental illnesses and/or suicide.
First we interviewed Ginny Falls, an 8th grade student at SSMS.
How many teenagers do you think commit suicide each year?
“Probably a good amount because all the weight that is put on teenagers.”
After telling her about how many teenagers die per year (800,000 per year, which is a death about every 45 seconds) she said she wanted to be surprised but she wasn’t and that it’s really hard to be happy when there is so much drama and politics everywhere we turn.
I don’t want that to be normal and for people to say, oh, that sounds about right.”
We asked journalism teacher, Emily Purvis, How many teenagers do you think commit suicide each year? She said it was probably a way higher number than she was thinking and it’s highly unreported.
“Most of the time we just hear about it when a celebrity commits suicide, or after an extreme bullying situation.”
We then told Purvis about how many deaths there are a year and she said,
“Sadly, it doesn’t surprise me and honestly I think it has to do with the pace of the modern day world. Every article will tell us we are more lonely and disconnected than ever and I feel it’s hard for people to feel that they’re known and that they matter. I think we are trying so hard to live out an instagram-filtered life and people feel like they can’t be honest. I think we live in a society where it’s not okay to, “not be okay.”
Is there anything we can do to prevent teen suicide?
“A big thing that needs to happen at school is to not sweep things under the rug; students need the opportunity to talk to others about things that are hard in their lives. It’s really easy to believe everyone else has it figured out and you don’t, it makes people feel isolated. But really, that’s not true. Everyone’s faking it til they make it.”
Finally, we interviewed Caroline Smart, a seventh grader at SSMS.
How many people do you think die of suicide each year worldwide?
“I wanna say a small number, but it probably isn’t. I would guess about 1,000 though.”
She said that to prevent suicide, “we should just be nicer to one and other.” She added that “one high five, hello, or even a smile can completely change things.”
No matter how much we try to ignore the topic of suicide, it is a major problem that needs to be collaborated on and not only talked about when a celebrity commits suicide. If you have suicidal thoughts, please get in contact with your SSMS counselor.
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