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Suicide Awareness Month

Sophie Rodgers, Editor • September 11, 2024

September is suicide prevention month. Unfortunately, suicide is a huge and deeply troubling issue in today’s society. This issue affects individuals, families, and communities all over the world. It’s a complicated circumstance, with many factors that weigh in, such as psychological, social, and environmental factors. Understanding the signs and having good prevention strategies are crucial for providing support to those in need and saving lives.

Over 720,000 people take their own life each year. 75% are male, and 25% are female. In 2022, over 1.6 million people took their lives. Suicide is one of the biggest leading causes of death in the world, and it affects people of all ages. The highest suicide rates are for females under the age of 25, and for males under 45. For males under 45, suicide is the biggest cause of death.

Support those around you. Offer a listening ear, and listen without judgment. Check on your friends, family, peers, or even a stranger. You never know what battles somebody is fighting. Choose kindness and love one another. Pay attention to warning signs like talking or “joking” about ending their life, feeling hopeless, or feeling like a burden. Pay attention to behavior that includes increased use of alcohol or drugs, withdrawal from activities they once enjoyed, giving away things that are important to them, aggressive behavior, and strange sleeping habits. Watch out for their mood.

As teenagers, we often think we have to follow the rule “snitches get stitches.” In this case, we are not old enough to deal with something as serious as suicide. If you think a friend is struggling with suicidal thoughts, please go find a trusted adult, even if you think your friend may get mad at you. It is always better to have a friend be mad at you than to lose a friend because you didn’t say anything. If you are struggling but feel as if you cannot tell a parent, tell a teacher, counselor, pastor, or any adult you can trust. Remember the old cliche, “We get by with a little help from our friends!”

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Hotlines:

Suicide Hotline: 988 (call or text)

Website: https://988lifeline.org/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=onebox

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About the Contributor

Sophie Rodgers, Editor

Sophie Rodgers is a seventeen- year- old junior in high school. She is an editor for the Steer Stampede and enjoys her quiet time. She keeps a small, close circle of friends who she spends most of her time with if she isn’t working at Scooters Coffee. Sophie is a part of the RSB3 where she plays the flute and was in the Varsity group, top of her section by the time she was a freshman; she is also a section leader. She considers herself to be a high achiever and cares very much about her grades; she stresses over any grade that’s under a 90. Sophie overthinks pretty much everything. She picks out small details and stresses if it doesn’t all go the way she expects it to. You would often find Sophie by herself in her bedroom watching her favorite shows or reading her favorite books. Her favorite shows include Jane The Virgin, All American, and The Summer I Turned Pretty. Sophie’s favorite books are: The Diary Of Anne Frank, The Summer I Turned Pretty, and It’s Not Summer Without You. One thing about Sophie is that she gets annoyed pretty easily, but most of the time you won’t be able to tell that she is even frustrated. Her biggest pet peeve is people who eat loud/ chew with their mouth open.Sophie is one of seven kids so she gets called the wrong name often, mostly by her parents. While she enjoys living in America, she prefers living overseas. When she is older, Sophie would like to go back to China where she lived for the majority of her life before coming to Graham (12 years).