You may not think that your child is at risk for suicide, but there may be clues and signs that can alert you to their distress that include:
- Isolation from family and friends
- Eating disturbances or stomach problems
- Anger, irritability, engaging in high-risk behavior without thinking
- Dropping grades
- Feeling embarrassed or humiliated in front of peers
- Recent disappointment or rejection
- Sudden loss of freedom/fear of punishment
- Victim of assault or bullying
- Substance abuse
- Giving away belongings
- Talking about feeling hopeless or trapped
- Talking about being a burden or not belonging
- Writing or drawing about suicide or acting it out in play
- Talking about suicide or wanting to die
- Anxious and depressed, not sleeping
- Diagnosis of a serious or terminal illness
There are other risk factors that may make some people more vulnerable to suicide including:
- A family history of suicide
- Bullying along with access to firearms and pills
- Mental Health disorder
- Substance Abuse