Course helps students learn signs of suicide

Eighth-graders taught
to watch out for peers
who may need help

BY LINDA DeNICOLA
Staff Writer

Course helps students
learn signs of suicide
Eighth-graders taught
to watch out for peers
who may need help
BY LINDA DeNICOLA
Staff Writer

FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP — Suicide is a serious problem in the United States and is one of the leading causes of death among young people. According to the American Psychiatric Association, suicide is the third leading cause of death among people between the ages of 15 and 24.

With those statistics in mind, eighth grade students at the Eisenhower Middle School, Burlington Road, recently learned how to recognize the warning signs of depression and what to do if they believe someone is suicidal.

The steps a person should take when a friend talks about committing suicide was the big question the youngsters considered. The answer to that question and others concerning teen depression were tackled by health and physical education teacher Cory Radisch in the hope of providing the students with the knowledge and skills necessary to understand the problem.

In the classroom, Radisch used role-playing, critical thinking, decision-making activities, and thought-provoking assignments to supplement class instruction.

Students were taught how to recognize the warning signs of the degree of depression that can lead to suicide: suicide threats; obsession with death; drawings, poems or essays that refer to death; dramatic changes in personality or appearance; irrational, bizarre behavior; overwhelming sense of guilt, shame or rejection; changes in eating or sleeping patterns; severe drop in school performance; and giving away belongings.

Throughout the course, Radisch’s mantra was to ask, Are you willing to do what’s right? That question is important, he said, because teens are often afraid to confront a peer if they feel they are betraying that person’s trust.

Students were taught to use their decision-making skills to first determine if a person shows symptoms, then list the options, weigh the possible outcomes, consider their own values, make a decision and act on it.

"If the depressed teen is suicidal, telling an adult may help save a life," Radisch told the students.

Even though the subject matter was deadly serious, the course was not all doom and gloom. Students were given a choice of three different assignments, each positive and uplifting. One of the more popular assignments was to find five happy songs that promote the beauty of living. Students then had to draw a CD cover illustrating their feelings about songs and choose their favorite and write an essay explaining why it makes them happy.

The students picked songs like "Beautiful" by Christina Aguilera and "Survivor" by Destiny’s Child.

Other students made collages of pictures showing things or people that bring them happiness.

According to the American Psychiatric Association, depression and the risk for suicide have biological as well as psychological causes. Studies have found that some people who are depressed have altered levels of certain brain chemicals. In addition, a family history of suicide is a significant risk factor in a young person.

Increased awareness of the problem may have helped slow the rate of teen suicide in recent years, but many think the number of suicides is two to three times higher than statistics indicate.

Teaching children to pay attention to each other can only have positive results in the long run, Radisch said.