OC HIGH: Student News & Views : Pain and Hope : Real Problems Won’t Just Disappear, but Listening Can Make a Difference

Suicide is something many teen-agers hear about, talk about and think about.

Statistics show that suicide claims more lives among 10- to 19-year-olds than anything except accidents and homicides.

The big question: How to prevent it? That is nearly impossible. To prevent suicide, one would have to completely lift the stress of everyday teen-age life caused by problems with grades, relationships, family or just the feeling of growing up too fast. This would mean not requiring kids to go to school and putting us in isolation from the rest of the world.

The reality is that problems--along with occasional depression--are part of life.

So we might as well stop complaining about the problems we can’t avoid and start thinking about managing them better. No problem has ever been solved by ignorance or overreaction, and nothing will ever get solved with extremes.

A gut instinct when we run into a problem is to run away from it, but sooner or later we realize that we just have to face it.

People say counseling usually helps. But when people (especially teen-agers) attempt or think about suicide, the last thing they want to do is go to some strange old shrink with a beard telling them that everything will be OK. It seems more logical to go to a friend or family member you know well and trust.

I’m not saying psychiatrists shouldn’t be trusted, but it’s hard to completely trust someone the first time you meet them.

When I was a freshman at another high school, I had a friend who slit her wrists during lunch period, for no apparent reason. She was bleeding through her shirt, and I really didn’t know what to do. So I told a teacher. My friend was taken to a doctor and later got counseling.

Another friend, who was a lot closer to me, left a suicide note in my locker and then disappeared for a day. I got scared, but eventually she turned up OK.

Teen-age suicide isn’t something we can run away from. It’s going to happen to someone we know or to a celebrity we look up to. If a person really wants to commit suicide, it is doubtful they’ll do it in front of you.

Most attempts are cries for help. Whether you chose to answer that cry is your decision but, chances are, if you hold out a branch for a person who’s drowning, they’ll grab on quicker than you expect.