so many suicides

[MADHAT6]

I have been seeing more and more people of all ages just after they have overdosed and i am finding it difficult to cope with seeing so manyserious suicide attempts. i have been a psych nurse for 14 years and love my specialty but every day now there are 3 or 4 serious attempts,more than i have ever seen in the past...any suggestions on coping with this ? we have a 12 year old in today and we are seeing more and more children as well:cry:

[DavidLCPCCSADC]

Sounds like it's time to get a support network in place. This is a good issue for individual and group supervision. Many of us are blessed with a supportive fellowship that is available 24/7......it's also a good idea to have a personal network of peers and friends that allows you the freedom to "circle the wagons". I think most of the useful suggestions will address spiritual answers and experiences. Good luck.

[RochesterRN-BSN, BSN, RN]

It is sad and yes we see a lot of s/p suicide attempts........but we also see a lot of people who when explored more deeply are more passively suicidal, more hopeless then anything. We see A LOT of self injurous behaviors--as we get a lot of borderline PD patients. I am in a psych ER at a hospital that takes patients starting at age 4! It is sad when we see a very young child with SI and/or an actual attempt. We had a 5 YO who had tried x2-- via hanging and strangulation with a belt. OMG at such a young age you have to wonder that kind of home he was in. Really sad. .....as far as support. I can't say we have anything in place here.

[Purple_Scrubs, BSN, RN]

OMG A FIVE YEAR OLD? What kind of a concept of death can that kid even have? That is truly disturbing. I cannot imagine my PK and Kindergarden kids in that situation. Makes me sick to my stomach.

[LaRN]

We had a 5 YO who had tried x2-- via hanging and strangulation with a belt. OMG at such a young age you have to wonder that kind of home he was in. Really sad. .....as far as support.

Although it's possible that his problems are related to his home life, it's also very possible that he has severe mental illness. The automatic assumption that bad parenting is to blame can result in caregivers not getting help for these children.

[E I Adeosun]

Thanks for the article on suicide . It is alarming the rate at which it is been committed .In my country here in Nigeria , we have cases of children between the age of 9 to 15 and teenagers been involved and it seems as if the government is not botherded about it .Something needs to be done urgently so as not to waste the young generations.