Dear Editor:
It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that I write this
letter.
Dear Editor:
It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that I write this letter.
A Britton Middle School student has taken her own life. Anytime we lose a young person the pain and grief that family and friends experience is unfathomable. A death caused by suicide reaches out and touches everyone in the community and surrounding communities.
While there is no single behavior that Identifies a teen at risk, some signs and behaviors tend to appear frequently. We all need to be educated and alert to these early warning signs and risk factors that suggest a youth’s situation may be of concern.
Many experts believe that the majority, perhaps as many as nine out of 10 young people who commit suicide give prior clues. Research estimates that about 60 percent of students will have suicidal thoughts at some point during their teen years. The good news is not all teens act out their thoughts.
It is not unusual for a youth contemplating suicide to discuss this fact with peers. We want those students who have concerns about another student (whether the student is a friend or not) to come forward and tell an adult. Your concerns will be treated in a discrete and confidential manner.
Too often students feel that if they tell an adult, it is betraying their friend’s confidence. A teen might say, “Life isn’t worth living, if I died no one would miss me, I don’t want to live anymore,” and in the next breath say “I was just kidding.” Please don’t take on the responsibility of judging whether or not the teen is serious. Just tell an teacher, school counselor, administrator or parent.
Some personal conditions that may be associated with suicidal thoughts are:
• Marked changes in behavior. These may include changes in sleeping patterns, onset of eating disorder, extreme promiscuity, dramatic emotional outbursts, uncharacteristic acts of rebellion, dramatic decline in school performance.
• Voluntary isolation from friends and family and withdrawal from normally sociable activities.
• Significant increase in the use of alcohol and/or drugs.
• Neglect of personal appearance.
• Senseless risk taking..
• Exaggeration of health complaints or emergence of psychosomatic illnesses.
• Pronounced difficulty in being able to concentrate on tasks (often coupled with dramatic mood changes).
• Preoccupation with death, with morbid thoughts or themes of destruction.
• Expressions of pervasive and enduring sadness or expressions of emotion that seem not at all to fit in with the social context.
• Preoccupation with escape fantasies.
• Behavior that is characterized as putting one’s life in order (giving away possessions, settling accounts).
• Intense pressure for achievement coupled with fear of disapproval or failure.
• Conflicts over one’s emerging sexual identity or preference.
•The death of a family member or close friend.
• Constant seeking of attention through inappropriate behaviors.
• Suicide threats or attempts to commit suicide.
The following is a list of agencies and Hot Lines:
• 911
• Community Solutions 842-7138
• Suicide and Crisis Hotline 683-2482
• Eastfied Ming-Quong Mobile Crisis Team (24/7 service) 294-0500
To the parents, family, friends, classmates, staff of Britton Middle School our heartfelt sympathy, condolences and thoughts.
Annie Tomasello, Gilroy High Coordinator Healthy Start Student Services
Submitted Monday, March 10
