Talking to Teens About Suicide

“Talk to teens about suicide and love them out of considering suicide as a solution to their pain.” -Elder Rasband

I was just recently talking to my sister about the suicide crisis in America. The more that teens are choosing this method of handling their problems, the more we see others follow. My sister was explaining to me that most parents feel that if they talk to their children about suicide, they will be putting the idea of suicide in their teen’s mind. I have to be honest, I am one of those moms. I have been afraid to approach my teens or the youth I work with about suicide or depression for that exact reason. She explained that a teen, or anyone who is not suicidal, will not suddenly become suicidal. However, a person struggling with suicidal thoughts will have a hard time bringing up the topic on their own. It can be embarrassing, and also hard for them to understand what they are feeling. Elder Rasband says, many times, these feelings are brought on from “disappointment, a botched quiz, a breakup, a string of bullying, academic stress, and what we might call adolescent misery.” In most of these situations, the person struggling needs someone who loves them to listen, validate, and then help them work through

Elder Rasband explains, “There is no template for who is at risk, these youth play the trombone, sing in the choir, play soccer teams, or bag groceries after school. They come to church—some of them – they are the friends of those who come to your classes, though some have long since set aside religion for themselves.” This is super important for us to remember as we talk to our children and the youth, we work with, so that we can know how to guide them. However, along with being aware, we need to be prayerful in these situations. The Holy Ghost will help us know who needs help.

When my older sister was a senior in high school, the student body president, homecoming king, and 4.0 student, tried to take his life. He ended up not dying, but having to live the rest of his life with severe brain damage. It was such a shock to everyone, including his family. No one saw it coming. It came in a different form than what we think of when we assume someone may be suicidal. In this situation, it appeared to come from the too much pressure to be perfect, and the chaos of too many extracurricular activities. Pressure that he put on himself eventually became too much for him.

The adversary wants our youth, and is “not content with what he has carved out of the kingdom of God on earth so far,” Elder Rasband admonished “He wants more. He is aggressive and ruthless. He is targeting those in your care; we are seeing in some their ‘hearts failing them for fear’ (Luke 21:26).”

As we are prayerful for our children, those we teach, and the teens our children bring over, we will find ways that we can help them see Christ’s love. Find opportunities to help them feel loved and appreciated. Help them see that the stresses that are happening right now in their lives are not the end to all, that over the years these issues will diminish in importance, even though at this time it feels all-consuming. Help them understand and feel the POWER of their Savior’s atonement, he has already carried all their struggles, and he is walking with them now. “Christ’s enabling power is manifest in the simplicity that He is there for us. Come what may, He will be with us, He will comfort us, and He will heal us if we come to Him and draw upon His power to save us. Most often He heals the wounded heart. How does it happen, we ask? By the power of the Atonement exercised in our lives today, not at the end before the final judgment, but every day as we seek to be like Him.” -Elder Rasband