The suicide rate for adolescents has more than doubled since the 1960s. So the challenge for parents and educators is to be able to tell the difference between normal teen mood swings and clinical despair.
Attempts are commn among girls, but completion is quite rare.
If a boy talks about suicide, that statistically carries a far higher risk of some tragedy occuring than when a girl does. There is this notion about depression and suicide, that if you ask or mention the subject, you're going to make it happen. Kay Jamison, professor of psychiatry at John Hopkins School of Medicine says, that quite the contrary is true. Talking with a son or daughter about dark feelings will help assuage the sense of hopelessness the child may have. The difference between common feelings and disruptive emotional illness lies in the frequency and intensity of the feelings.