Author discusses suicide

INCREASINGLY. TEENAGERS die by their own hand — suicide is the second leading cause of death among adolescents in our socicty.

By Peggy Trendell-Whittaker News Reporter

And while the ultimate decision to live or to die can only be made by the child, Marion Crook firmly believes that many, if not all, suicides are preventable.

Crook, the author of Teenagers Talk About Suicide and Every Parent’s Guide to Understanding Teenagers uad Suicide, will speaking on this topic at the Se- renity Shop on Tuesday, Feb. 26 from 7 to 9 p.m.

Formerly a public health nurse, Crook was given the journals of a young suicide victim by the child’s mother, who hoped the informa- tion could be used to help other families.

Crook later spoke with 30 young people across Canada who nad attempted suicide and helping agencies, then compiled the in- formation in her books.

Crook found that ‘you don’t

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have to actually be a psychologist to help a child, you just have to listen."*

But listening isn’t: always so easy. Often, parents and = other people are frightened by the thought of suicide and feel they wouldn't know what to do if their child was actually contemplating taking their own life.

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As a result, parents uncon- sciously deny that suicide could be a possibility. ‘‘lt always seems that it's someone else’s child,” says Crook, noting that many parents cling to the false belief that only obviously mentally disturbed children would attempt suicide.

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child really means it and leave him or her alone.""

But it's imperative to keep health lines of communication open between family members. Crook found that young people who had attempted suicide almost uniformly felt ‘‘they didn’t belong in their families and they didn't have anyone to talk to.... They felt they weren’t good enough for their families.**

Parents often don’t realize their

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child feels this way, says Crook. “They often don't go around looking morose.’’ Crook notes, counselling parents to watch in- stead for an unusual change in personality, whether it be to a more vibrant or lower-key state.

Crook will discuss these issues and others at the free speaker's evening taking place at 219 Lons- dale Ave. For more information call The Serenity Shop at 987- 8726.

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