The walls of reasoning and sanity inside Kaitlin gradually deteriorated and came tumbling down with an eerie echo of finality nine months after her boyfriend's death. No Warning Kaitlin, like many other suicide victims, gave little actual forewarning of her decision to end her life. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that every year, about 5,000 young people fall to the feelings of intense despair and pain and commit suicide. That's about 5.5 of every 100,000 people under age 25. Young white males have the highest suicide rate, but the percentage of young black males is rising precipitously.
Many more teens try to kill themselves.
Though these figures are startling, what is even more shocking is that you may know someone who is considering this desperate way out. Anyone who has made a previous attempt is considered a high risk to try again. Anyone who talks about suicide or death should be taken seriously, especially if an event like the death of Kaitlin's boyfriend may be prompting this talk. Caring about a severely depressed person can change his or her outlook on life. Remember that a suicide attempt is not an attempt to end life, but to end pain.