Hurting Kids: Symptoms and Warning Signs of Teenage Suicide

By Steve Gerali

This is an excerpt from What Do I Do When Teenagers are Depressed & Contemplate Suicide, which a part of the “What Do I Do…” series from Youth Specialties. To get the entire book or series, go to youthspecialties.com or wherever books are sold. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Teenagers who commit suicide usually believe that their present lives are hopelessly painful and filled with the darkest despair, and that their futures won’t bring any relief, being equally dark. Death becomes the only means of escape. Suicide is among the leading causes of death among adolescents in the United States and worldwide.

Symptoms of depression. These are often the primary and most prevalent signs. About 90 percent of all teenage suicides are accompanied by depression or grow out of prolonged depression. Depressed teens need to be monitored closely. Sometimes when teens appear to come out of depression, it may be that they’ve resolved to attempt suicide—in other words, the opportunity to escape the pain of depression may be a relief to them and paradoxically elevate their moods. Such a decision can feel empowering and can give them more energy. So if depressed teens’ moods begin elevating, they need to be monitored more closely.

 Verbal Cues. Teens contemplating suicide may speak about or ask questions about death and funerals. They may ask questions such as, “Does the Bible talk about suicide?” or “Do people who commit suicide go to hell?” They may make comments about being better off dead, wishing they’d never been born, or speak in terms of not having a future (“I may not be here for that”), or exclude themselves from life milestones they’d typically want to experience with their peers (“My friends will graduate this year”).

Verbal cues will also accompany and explain some behavioral cues. They may talk about not needing their things anymore or ask people to take care of their pets. Verbal cues can also include teens coming right out and talking about feelings and thoughts of suicide.

 Behavioral Cues. Some of these cues have already been mentioned but are worth repeating. Teens who are suicidal may engage in…

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