Psychologically Non Serious Diane example essay topic

... ill have thought about suicide for only a half hour or so before they try something. The most frequent reason for these impulsive suicide plans are relationship problems. Medically non-serious, Psychologically non-serious Janet is 13. She has dysthymia but has never been treated. She has a new boyfriend who is very nice to her. The only problem is that her parents will not let her go out with him by herself.

He is 17, does not go to school, and is on probation for selling cigarettes to other children. That is how he met Janet. Janet's parents have told that she is not to have any contact with him. She has decided to show her parents how much this hurts her. She went and took a pop can lid and scratched her wrists and then walked by her parents so they could see this. She had no intention of hurting herself seriously.

She wanted to drive her parents nuts. It was successful. They were more excited about this than anything she had ever done! Janet was not trying to kill herself. What she was doing was not going to really hurt her. She needs help, but probably not this very minute.

Medically non-serious, Psychologically serious Wayne is 16. He has been very depressed for the last year and has a full depressive syndrome. He is now failing in school, refusing to do work around the house, and all he does is sit in his room and listen to his stereo with the headphones on loud. He overheard his mother mention that the pills she was taking for her nerves were quite strong, so she was only taking a half.

So he thought that sounded like a good way to go. He took the 7 remaining pills. They were. 5 mg Ativan (Lorazepam) pills and this was a very small dose.

He took them, fell asleep, and woke up a little tired the next morning. His mom asked if he had seen her pills and he told her the story. Wayne was really trying to kill himself. He just did not know that what he was doing was not that serious.

Wayne needs to be seen by a therapist or psychiatrist immediately and watched carefully before then. Medically serious, Psychologically non-serious Diane is 13. She just found out that she will not be going to her best friend's house for a sleep over birthday party. She has gone to her house for abut three years.

Now her best friend has invited some new friends and Diane is not going. The other girls who are going are all talking about it at school. It seems to Diane that they are just doing it to bug her. Diane has been pretty irritable lately, and that may or may not have something to do with why she was not invited.

She has decided to take some pills on the night of the party so they will be really sorry. She has decided to take some tylenol, which she believes is very safe. She takes 30. Nothing happens. She goes to tell her mom, but her mom is on the phone. She goes up to her room and falls asleep.

The next morning she tells her mom. Diane is very surprised when she ends up in the hospital with IV medications to counteract the tylenol. Diane did not really want to kill herself. She wanted to make a point. Unfortunately, she did not realize how dangerous tylenol overdoses can be.

Medically Serious, Psychologically serious Yvon is 16. His girlfriend has left him after he lost his temper with her. He was suspended from school for swearing at the teacher last week. His parents are constantly yelling at him for nothing. He has a headache all the time and feels like the world would be a much better place without him. While his dad is out fishing, he goes to the shed and gets some rope and sets it up to hang himself.

He kicks away the chair just as the door opens. His dad forgot the bait bags. His father always told the story afterwards how his forgetfulness saved his son's life. Managing Suicidal Thoughts and Behavior When a person has thoughts about killing themselves or actually makes an attempt, there are a number of things that need to be done: 1. Take it seriously If a child is saying he or she wants to die, it is worthy of attention. Maybe it is really nothing.

At the very least, it requires a heart to heart talk. Many adults believe that children and teenagers do not really mean it when they talk about suicide. Data collected in the last two decades clearly suggests that sometimes children do mean it. 2. Take away the taboo from talking about suicide If you have a depressed child, they certainly may be thinking about suicide. Not talking about it will not make this possibility go away.

At the very least, openly ask the child if they are thinking about suicide. If some stressor has occurred (for example, girl friend and boyfriend troubles) ask again. 3. Get some help Suicidal thinking or attempts almost always means that some sort of professional help is indicated. Most children and adolescents who have suicidal thoughts or have made suicidal attempts have at least one, and sometimes more than one, psychiatric disorder (Read treating the chronically suicidal person). These disorders obviously need to be identified and treated.

For medically serious attempts, it usually means going directly to a hospital, and then seeing a psychiatrist once the medical emergency has passed. Sometimes it means psychiatric hospitalization. For less serious attempts, it means getting seen in the next week or so. 4. Supervision If your child makes a suicide attempt or has a plan, you need to make sure they are not alone.

They need to be watched until they can be carefully assessed. This may just be a matter of a day or so, or it could be longer. No one likes being watched all the time, and it is exhausting to all concerned. 5. Avoid manipulation Some people will use suicidal thoughts or attempts to get what they want or to get out of things they do not want to do. People try suicide to hurt others, to try to get back at boy or girl friends, and to get out of work or school.

By keeping this possibility in mind, most parents (with a little help) can prevent suicidal behavior from becoming a habit.