Self-Harm

It is vital for educators to understand the impact age has on our students because it helps us understand how the child/young adult strives and either succeeds or fails and “fitting in” to their social environment. The text mentions suicide fairly extensively. This is fitting considering the large number of young people who commit suicide every year (2,000) and the fact that is remains the third leading cause of death in teenagers (p.354). Early in my career in education, I became increasingly aware not only of the very real danger suicide is to my students, but also of the increase of cutting or self-injury. Self-injury is a way for the individual to gain control and “cope” if they have never acquired positive ways of handling stressers and grief. This is important to note, because it encompasses some of the same reasons given for suicide. “Because of their youth and lack of experience in making accurate judgments, depressed adolescents may be more prone to respond to the suggestion of suicide than an adult” (p.355). This lack of experience also influences students towards self-injury. Both of these speak to self-harm as a way of coping and dealing with the world around them. All too often adults attempt to put our rationale and ability to cope on young people and assume they possess the same skills. We need to be aware of this very real danger to young people.