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Teen Depression and Suicide Risks

1) The speaker discusses their friend who suffered from depression due to their mother constantly blaming and comparing them, which caused them to isolate themselves. Depression is a mental illness characterized by feelings of emptiness, sadness, and inability to feel pleasure. 2) Peer problems, social media, and academic pressure are factors that can lead to depression among teenagers. Negative behaviors from peers can damage self-confidence, while cyberbullying on social media leaves victims feeling alone. Excessive academic pressure from parents and schools fails to improve grades and causes emotional and physical symptoms of depression. 3) Ways to overcome depression include eating healthy foods, limiting time dwelling on problems and on social media, and engaging in creative activities.

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Nurain Batrisyia
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27 views4 pages

Teen Depression and Suicide Risks

1) The speaker discusses their friend who suffered from depression due to their mother constantly blaming and comparing them, which caused them to isolate themselves. Depression is a mental illness characterized by feelings of emptiness, sadness, and inability to feel pleasure. 2) Peer problems, social media, and academic pressure are factors that can lead to depression among teenagers. Negative behaviors from peers can damage self-confidence, while cyberbullying on social media leaves victims feeling alone. Excessive academic pressure from parents and schools fails to improve grades and causes emotional and physical symptoms of depression. 3) Ways to overcome depression include eating healthy foods, limiting time dwelling on problems and on social media, and engaging in creative activities.

Uploaded by

Nurain Batrisyia
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Introduction

Speaker 1
Now, I would like to ask you a question? Has anyone here fallen sick before? Of course, the
answer is Yes, right? I would like to share with you a story of my good friend, who suffered from
a sickness, not physically but mentally.
Before that, a very good afternoon I bid to our honourable panel of judges and members of the
floor. To begin, my friend shows symptoms which she loses interest in doing things, she becomes
anti-social and feels like not more self-worth investing herself again. This is because of her
mother. Her mother always blames and compares her with other child who is better than her
when she did not get the marks that were targeted by her mother. Until one day, she started
skipping school and locked herself in the room. She felt as if no one care about her in this world.
The mental illness that she suffered is considered as depression. Depression is one of the theme
of public health. Depression is the feeling of emptiness, sadness and inability to feel pleasure for
no apparent reason. There are 3 types of depression, which is mild, moderate and severe. Luckily
for her, her mother realized her weird behaviours earlier and brought her to the hospital for
further treatment and saved her from committing suicide. However, not all people are very lucky
as my friend, some of them may already committed suicide to end their lives. And this is a topic
that we are going to tackle today which is “Depression among teenagers which leads to suicide”.
Depression is very common among teenagers. This fact can be proven by the research that was
carried out by NHMS between year 2012 until year [Link] can see that the rates of depression
has increased among these ten years. The rate of suicide thought also increases from 7.9% in
year 2012 to 13.1% in year 2022. The data is skyrocketing increases so, we must take some
actions to address it. First, we have to know the exact factors that causes depression among the
teenagers.
The first factor that I am going to talk about is peer problem.
Peer problem
Peer is the second closest person with the teens as they spend most of their time with their
friends at school. However, a negative behaviour from peer friend will cause depression. They
rarely give you any support and all they want to see is your weaknesses. After that, they always
play jokes on your weaknesses. After they had made you mad, they would just saying “it was just
a joke, why do you take it so serious?” They do not even know that this kind of joke already hurt
their friend’s pride. This will make them become less self-confidence, feeling anxiety and
depressed. Less self-confidence can lead to poor academic performance, distancing from family
members and friends. Left untreated, this could eventually lead teens to engage in self harm or
have suicidal thought. This is because they think they are useless and feel like it’s not worth
investing yourself again. Besides, if they do not been diagnosed early and followed by the
treatment, they might commit suicide.
Speaker 2
SOCIAL MEDIA
Now, I will continue with the next factor. The second factor that I will touch is social media. In
this modern era, social media has spread widely. Its usage is not limited to age. All ages are free
to use social media. I admit that social media can be a positive thing. Most teen use social media
to communicate and it helps bring people together, share aspects of themselves and stay in touch
with family and friends. However, for teenagers, social media can also give a negative influence
such as cyberbully. It may be hard to fathom how some words or text on a computer screen can
lead to such trauma. At this moment, there is no teachers or parents who are going to see what is
happening and intervene to put a stop to it. It’s just like, there is no one will going to say “hey!
stop it and don’t listen to others”. I am definitely sure they will not say it, it’s just you and
yourself are going to face the problems alone. Here, the child may already experiencing feeling
of depression or anxiety due to problem at social media. This change of behaviour seems a bit
extreme such as “thoughts of suicide” .We should know that the relationship between bullying
and suicide is a strong one.

ACADEMIC PRESSURE
Last but not least, other than peer problem and social media, academic pressure is also one of
the factors that causes depression which could lead to suicide. Academic pressure is defined as
an experience in which a student is burdened by the demands of time and energy to achieve
specific academic goals. For example, students must get straight A's in SPM or 4 flat in STPM.
The stress actually can come from a variety of potential sources and has a myriad of impacts on
students both emotionally and academically. Listen here everyone, we have to bear in mind that
academic pressure does not always lead to better grades and improved test scored even though
we are forcing certain students to work hard on it. As the saying goes, “working smarter not
harder”. If this keep on continues, this will effect an adolescent to experience emotional or
physical symptoms of depression. And if we do not take it seriously, it may harm the student and
even worst, could lead to “suicide”.
Speaker 3

WAYS TO OVERCOME DEPRESSION


EAT HEALTHY FOOD AND DRINK PLENTY OF WATER
Do you know some people with depression do not feel much like eating or some may overeat.
But for your information what you eat can affect your mood and energy. So, we need to choose
the right food. For most people that means plenty of fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Try to
limit simple carb or food that added sugar like junk food or desserts. Do not go for too long
without eating. Even if you do not feel hungry try to take light and healthy meal. Also do not
forget to drink plenty of water to keep you stay hydrated because water carries nutrients and
oxygen to all cells in the body and avoid sugary and caffeinated drink when possible.
DON’T DWELL ON PROBLEMS TOO MUCH
It is a good thing to talk about your problem with your trusted person. However this can lead to
complain, blame and rehash problems too much. This is because we keep focusing on talking our
problems until it empower our personality. We all agree that it is totally fine to express yourself
but please talk about some positive things too so it can heal our mind and our heart into more
brightest side.
CUT BACK ON SOCIAL MEDIA TIME
It is a general knowledge that the increase of social media usage can contribute to depression and
low self-esteem since it can be addicted. However limiting social media can prevent us from
depression. You can do this by deleting any social media apps that disturb your quality time.
DO SOMETHING CREATIVE
Creative activities can also promote positive mental health outcomes if you enjoy being creative.
For instance, participating in dance, music, painting, theater can also serve as ways to express
yourself.
CONCLUSION
In a nut shell, depression is a very serious public health problem and now it seems to be high
occurrence among teenagers. We have to raise the awareness among our community as the
prevalence of mental disorder has significantly increased over time. In this fast moving modern
epoch, competence among each other are very high.
With that I end my speech. Thank you for lending us your ears.

Common questions

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Peer influence impacts teenage mental health by contributing to feelings of depression through negative behaviors such as making jokes about weaknesses, which can lower self-confidence and increase anxiety. Such behaviors can lead teenagers to feel useless, eventually causing them to distance themselves academically and socially, potentially leading to self-harm or suicidal thoughts .

The document identifies several primary factors contributing to depression among teenagers: peer problems, social media influence, and academic pressure. Peer problems refer to the negative behaviors from peers that can diminish self-confidence and increase feelings of anxiety and depression. Social media can negatively affect teenagers through instances such as cyberbullying and lack of real-life intervention. Academic pressure involves the stress from the high demands of achieving academic success, leading to emotional and physical symptoms of depression .

The document emphasizes that diet and hydration significantly affect mental health. Consuming light, healthy meals and staying hydrated by drinking water can support mood and energy levels. Intake of simple carbohydrates and sugary drinks should be limited to avoid mood fluctuations. These dietary habits help improve overall mental well-being .

According to the document, creativity serves as a therapeutic avenue by providing a form of expression and a positive outlet for emotions. Engaging in activities like dance, music, or painting promotes mental health by diverting focus from negative thoughts and enhancing self-esteem and joy. These activities enable teenagers to express emotions in healthy ways, contributing to mental well-being .

The document reveals an increasing trend in teenage depression and suicide rates over the years 2012-2022. Depression rates among teenagers have shown a significant rise, and suicide thought rates climbed from 7.9% in 2012 to 13.1% in 2022. This upward trend underscores the growing public health concern regarding mental health among teenagers .

The document highlights the importance of not dwelling too much on personal problems to prevent them from dominating one's personality negatively. While it's important to express oneself and talk about issues, focusing excessively on problems can lead to complaining and blaming, which hinders mental health recovery. Instead, emphasizing positive experiences can aid in mental healing .

Academic pressure results from the intense demands to achieve specific academic goals, such as high grades. This pressure can create emotional and physical symptoms of depression in students. When academic expectations are unrealistic or students are forced to work without adequate support, it may increase stress levels and harm their mental health. If not addressed, this can lead to suicidal thoughts and behaviors .

The document suggests several measures for overcoming teenage depression: eating healthy foods rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains; limiting social media usage to reduce addiction and low self-esteem; engaging in creative activities such as dance, music, or painting to promote positive mental health; and not dwelling too much on problems, instead focusing on positive aspects to heal the mind .

Social media contributes to depression among teenagers through negative influences like cyberbullying, where texts or words can lead to trauma without a support system to intervene. Teenagers may face these issues alone, exacerbating feelings of depression and anxiety. The document emphasizes the strong relationship between bullying and suicide .

Crises in communication, such as the inability to effectively discuss and resolve peer conflicts or cyberbullying scenarios, play a significant role in exacerbating mental health challenges for teenagers. Teenagers often face these issues alone, without intervention from parents or teachers, which can intensify feelings of isolation, depression, and anxiety, potentially leading to suicidal thoughts .

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