Reasons Behind the Increased Suicide Rate Among High School Students

Did you know that the average rate of suicide in high schools has increased from 2005 to 2015(1)? Most people are forced to attend some sort of education throughout their life and for most people it causes severe stress. High School students today are faced with more challenging academics such as Diamond Bar High School. Students are forced to experience stress throughout high school and can potentially lead to stress in the future. Stress can develop into depression and, depending on your situation, can lead to suicide. Teens are also faced with the evil of bullies who make life harder, drug use in school, and even bitter arguments at home regarding academics and grades

Nearly one in five students are victims of bullying. Teens who are bullied have an increased rate of depression, anxiety, lack of sleep, and dropping out of school. Even cyberbullying can lead to these symptoms. Cyberbullying has been proven to affect a student’s ability to learn and feel safe at school. Targets of cyberbullying have a greater risk of both suicide and self-harm and can also lead to mental instability. It associates with low self-esteem, family problems, academic difficulties, school violence, and suicidal thoughts/attempts. Approximately one in twenty adolescents experience a suicide in a single year(3). Most teens are bullied based on their physical appearance, race, gender, and sexuality. Bullying may not seem like the end of the world but to some teens it is.

Another cause of increased suicide rates in high schools in the use of drugs. There are many different possible causes of teen drug use. Many are reacting to peer pressure and believe that turning to drugs and alcohol is how to become popular in high school. Peer pressure is something every teen has dealt with. Not all acts of peer pressure are bad, joining a sports team or trying to become a better person for example. Another cause of drug use is the amount of academic pressure that teens are forced to deal with in high school. The amount of stress put on a student is far too great to handle because of the pressure forced upon them by teachers and parents. Because they are being overwhelmed by the pressure, teens tend to give in into performance-enhancing drugs to boost their energy.

This can lead to serious health effects. Although some teens have never attempted any sort of drugs or alcohol, many are familiar with someone who has. Statistics show that twenty percent of high school students have been offered some sort of drug or alcohol in the past year(2). Although drug and alcohol use takes the pressure off teen minds, it causes more damage to the brain such as slowed thinking and memory issues which causes depression. The leading cause for suicides is major depression especially combined with drugs or alcohol.

Stress - Many teens are facing stress as we speak. Stress is a way that your body reacts from sudden changes. The body reacts to stress in all types of ways such as physically, mentally, and emotionally. Stress in school is mostly caused by fear of failure, social pressures, harder academics, uncertainty about the future. The fear to fail is something that almost every teen or student deals with and is the leading cause of stress in high school. Teens today are pressured with very high standards by their teachers and parents and the overload destroys teens on the inside. The fact that teens must take very challenging classes and get straight A’s, attend outside school activities for college credits, and still try and have a normal childhood is completely insane. The amount of workload that kids are faced with guaranteed to not have a childhood where you are able to spend time with friends and family.

Another factor in the leading cause of stress is the uncertainty about the future. Teens are too focused on whether or not they get into a good college and get a good job that they make sure they get a good grade. In order to get into a good college, teens must be able to get good grades both throughout the school year and on the SAT. Colleges also look at the level of the classes you are taking. These reasons are what cause stress for teens which can ultimately lead to depression and lack of energy or sleep.