Ashely Purdy says “ Suicide isn’t cowardly. I’ll tell you what is cowardly; treating people so badly that they want to end their lives.” 

According to emorycaresforyou.edu Every year, 864,950 people attempt suicide, which means 1 person attempts suicide every 38 seconds. Thats an average of about 94 completed suicides everyday.

Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death for ages 15-24 year- olds after accidents and homicides according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the CDC.

I read in an article called “The Sad Truths About Teen Suicide” written by Janice Shaw Crouse that one in five teenagers in the U.S seriously consider suicide annually. In the article Janice also shows that suicide rates differ between boys and girls. Girls think and attempt suicide about twice as often as boys, and tends to attempt suicide by overdosing on drugs or cutting themselves.

Yet boys die by suicide about four times as often as girls, perhaps because they tend to use more lethal methods, such as firearms, hanging, or jumping from heights. Janices statistics show that males are 80% of suicides and females are 20%. While reading the article it said that 25 attempts are made for every completed teen suicide.

There are many reasons why people commit suicide. kidshealth.org gives these reasons. Pressure to fit in socially, to perform academically, major life changes, dealing with bisexuality or homosexuality in an unsupportive family or community, Mental Illness and Bullying.

  I know everyone in this room has been bullied at least once in your life. So everyone knows what it feels like to get bullied. Just imagine being bullied everyday all day. To the point the only way to get rid of it is by killing yourself. bullyingstatistic.org shows that 4,400 deaths per year are caused by bullying.

suicide.org states that 95% of people die by suicide have a mental illness at the time of their death. And the most common mental illness is depression. Untreated depression is the number one cause for suicide. who.int states that globally, an estimated 350 million people of all ages suffer from depression. More women are affected by depression.

We all know we can’t completely stop suicide. It isn’t going anywhere. But, we can watch for the warning signs and get them help. The warning signs include talking about suicide or death in general, giving hints they might not be around much longer, talks about feeling hopeless,pulling away from friends and family, giving away treasured possessions to siblings or friends, engaging in risk- taking behaviors and many more. Not every person will show these signs. But, if you ever get the feeling they may be feeling suicidal tell. Don’t just let it slip by. You may be thinking well how can I help them? 1( 800) 273-8255 is the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. you call call 24 hours, 7 days a week. They speak English and Spanish. Not only that but just talking to them about it and telling them they are loved and wanted. Don’t just keep it to yourself because sometimes all they need is one person to care.

“When you reach the end of your rope tie a knot and hang on” - Abraham Lincoln