Jeff Yalden spoke to parents at Shawnee High School on Dec. 12.
Is your child showing red flags?
Jeff Yalden, a motivational speaker of approximately 24 years, spoke to parents at Shawnee High School on Dec. 12, discussing the “why” behind teen depression and suicide in America.
Yalden provided parents with statistics regarding suicide rates, stating 17 percent of all high school seniors have thought about ending their life, and every 18 minutes a teenager commits suicide. He also said that last year about 170,000 teenagers were brought into an emergency room from a failed suicide attempt — of them, 35 percent will try again.
What can parents do to raise their awareness before a tragedy happens?
Some signs of depression in teenagers are withdrawing from family and friends, losing interest in activities, feeling tired, irritability, anger or sadness, weight fluctuations, guilty feelings, uncharacteristic pessimism and physical pains or sickness (even though nothing is physically wrong).
Yalden said the increased use of social media can have a negative effect on teenagers, saying that four to five hours of screen time a day can make them 70 percent more likely to suffer from depression in their lifetime.
If a teenager is showing signs of depression, Yalden encourages seeking a mental health professional to consider options of therapy and possible medication.
He also stressed the importance of teenagers to have a trusted adult to turn to for guidance, even if it is not their parents.
“I think our kids have everything they need — our kids don’t have what they want. They want a trusting, caring, significant adult,” Yalden said.
He presented a Venn diagram displaying his theory on teen suicide. He said when a teenager feels alone based on the belief they don’t have meaningful relationships, when they feel like a burden based on the belief they don’t make any notable contributions to the world and when they feel the desire for suicide, it can lead to a suicide attempt.
The 13 warning signs of suicide to look for include suicidal talk, indifference about the future, giving away prized possessions, obtaining a weapon, sleeping patterns changing, low energy, drug or alcohol abuse, low motivation and lack of social interaction, self-harm, risky behavior, past suicide attempts, body language and sudden happiness/calmness.
“They’re making a forever decision based on emotion, they’re making decisions based off 15, 16 years when they’ve got 70 years ahead of them,” Yalden said. “When you see red flags, do something,”
For more information, visit www.JeffYalden.com.
