e feelings at home and at school, although they may confide in their friends, often binding them to secrecy. Some of them, especially young teens may not be aware what they are feeling is depression. Depressed teens may fall off dramatically in school performance and have difficulty in concentration. If a child or adolescent says, “I want to kill myself”, one must always take the statement seriously and seek evaluation from a child and adolescent psychiatrist. With support from family and professional treatment, children and teenagers who are suicidal can heal and return to a healthier path of development. Because depression precedes most suicides, early recognition of depression and treatment through medication and psychotherapy are important ways of preventing suicide. In general, suicide prevention efforts aim to identify people with the highest risk of suicide and to intervene before these individuals become suicidal. A person who observes the many signs of suicide should ask the individual in question whether he or she is thinking of suicide. If so, the observer should refer the person to a trained mental health professional to reduce the immediate risk of suicide and to treat the problems that led the person to consider suicide. Most suicides can be prevented because the suicidal state of mind is usually temporary. In the United States, mental health professionals established the first major suicide-prevention telephone hotlines in the 1950`s. Counselors or trained volunteers usually staff the hotlines around the clock. The staff members provide a listening ear to those in despair and tell callers where they can go to receive professional help. An increasing number of schools have suicide-prevention programs that trains students, teachers, and school staff to recognize warning signs and tell them where to refer students at risk of suicide. Another prevention method involves restricting access to means of killing onesel...
