Kaya 959 Reporter
The rise of teen suicide has been on an alarming rise in the last two years.
Phemelo Motene was recently joined by Samukelisiwe Mthembu, Clinical Psychologist as well as Ayanda Tetyana, who is a Parent and Family Coach.
They both gave ideas and tips to help parents to prevent teenage suicide. Samukelisiwe Mthembu, spoke about being very observant when your child begins isolating themselves from everyone else, this is usually the biggest sign that they need serious help.
“Sometimes you need to pay close attention to the kind of teenager you have in your house if it’s normal for example for your teen to lock themselves inside their rooms, that just could be what they do.
“It’s important to pay attention to when their behaviour changes, or when there’s a pattern of things that they don’t usually do.”
“The type of isolation I talk about is not just watching Netflix, and laughing in the room, or chatting to your friends, playing PlayStation games, or whatever they do in the room.”
“It’s almost like a defining kind of silence, where it couples with signs of depression, you teen stops eating, is not engaging with their friends, they drop little hints like saying ‘I wish I wasn’t alive’, ‘my life has no value’, ‘I just want to end it all.'” says Mthembu.
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According to the latest statistics, in South Africa, 9% of all teen deaths are caused by suicide with the fastest-growing age being young people under 35, specifically female suicides which peak between 15 to 19 years.
The South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG) has urged parents and guardians to pay attention to signs of depression and anxiety when they arise and to seek help when a child experiences them.
They outline the following as some of the signs to keep in mind in your child.
KEY SIGNS OF DEPRESSION:
- Loss of interest in things you like to do
- Sadness that won’t go away
- Irritability or feeling angry a lot
OTHER SIGNS INCLUDE:
- Feeling guilty or hopeless
- Not enjoying things you once liked
- Feeling tense or worrying a lot
- Crying a lot
- Spending a lot of time alone
- Eating too much or too little
- Sleeping too much or too little
- Having low energy or restless feelings
- Feeling tired a lot
- Missing school a lot
- Hard time making decisions
- Having trouble thinking or paying attention
- Thinking of dying or killing yourself
SADAG also have a skilled counsellor support the line where you can call and get assistance (0800 567 567)
They also encourage teens to get professional help, to talk to an adult they trust, to go to a doctor, or talk to a church leader.
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