The Inner World of a Suicidal Youth (revised edition)

Download or read book The Inner World of a Suicidal Youth (revised edition) written by Millie Osborne and published by Millie Osborne. This book was released on 2019-11-07 with total page 181 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Suicide has been a public health crisis for at least the last two decades. When this book was first published in 2007, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), suicide was the third leading cause of death for youths ages 15 to 24, and the fourth leading cause of death for youths ages 10 to 14. Suicide rates have steadily increased so much that, since 2017, it is the second leading cause of death for youths in both age groups, 15-24, 10-14. The rate of suicide attempts has increased even more rapidly over the last two decades, by more than 400%. The U.S. data captured by the CDC is an unfortunate reflection of a global epidemic of suicide. As author Osborne explains, existing approaches to preventing youth suicide have had little impact on reducing the number of suicides and suicide attempts across America. While there are countries with suicide rates higher than the U.S., there are even more countries with rates that are lower. What can we, and should we, seek to learn from countries with much lower suicide rates than the U.S., countries like Barbados, Jamaica, Italy, Peru, and Panama? Like many youths, Electra is a well-loved, beautiful, highly intelligent teenager. By unveiling the private thoughts of a suicidal teenager in this unprecedented book, Osborne hopes that Electra’s diary, which spans 7 years from age 15 to 22, will provide an understanding of the adolescent mind that will spur more effective means to recognize, treat, and heal those at risk, and so vastly reduce suicide among our youth.