lesleys

But please don't be put off anti-depressants if you need them

tonyk38

Indeed, but if you're actively suicidal, seek other help as well.

asprilla

Perhaps there is something about "queensland" that is causing this anomaly.

OR - perhaps you are reading what you want to believe in a courier mail article...

Grayling

Whatever....it is still an incredibly high suicide rate

cresta57

That article doesn't mention specific numbers G are you talking about the actual report?
Looking at the report QLD is 1.4 suicides per 100,000 Vic is 1.3 per 100,000
even that doesn't seem particularly higher than the rest of the world.

Here's a link to the full report http://www.ccypcg.qld.gov.au/pdf/pub...nal-Report.pdf

tonyk38

It isn't. There are many countries with higher suicide rates, but rates of young male suicides in this country are unusually high as a proportion of the whole.

jad n rich

Thats very sad reading, especially about the case of the 12 and 13 year old boys

The suicide rate in OZ is pretty high overall isnt it?

My teens are 15 and 17 in qld, live on the coast and seem to have huge social lives to the point your nagging about time for study

The older one sometimes visits a mate who moved 4 hours west of brisbane, and its seems to be parties and motorbikes, kids seem to have a ball which surprised me.

However in primary it was more sinister, in grade 6, a girl used to harm herself in class, once slitting her wrist on a table set up for a group activity. Jack saw it Later she got into the EMO thing, dont know if thats so big now but it was.

Main thing I notice is so many kids have problems at home, imagine trying to deal with an abusive home life and school pressure, also kids are incredibly cruel, I was shocked to the core with some of the bullying at primary school.

High school is a very cruel place if you dont fit in. Groups form early, everyone seems to be slotted into a type, each group has a name, place they sit, whos allowed in Must be a nightmare if you dont click.

Then of course the raging hormones added to it all.

paulry

This whole topic is so sad but we need to know, I suppose - if only to recognise and respond to possible warning signs amongst those around us.

Which are the ADs that are most commonly prescribed to teens in this country?

Cheetah7

I cannot imagine what it must be like to feel so low that a person feels that the only way out is to end their life.

tonyk38

I don't know the stats but would reasonably assume that it would mostly be Mirtazepine, Citalopram, its stereoisomer Escitalopram, Amitryptiline, Venlafaxine and Sertraline.

The thing to bear in mind is that because one works wonders for one person, it won't necessarily suit another. Sometimes this can simply be because of how it's metabolised: Venlafaxine for example breaks down into Desvenlafaxine in the body. For some, this process doesn't happen as it should, hence the manufacturers of said drug (Pfizer) are now marketing Desvenlafaxine, which is to all intents and purposes a metabolite of Venlafaxine. One would reasonably assume that the efficacy would thus be improved.

paulry

It's the same as for a lot of medicines I suppose, if one doesn't work that well or its side effect profile is significantly felt then another one can be chosen from the arsenal. We're lucky today to have so many choices of treatment I suppose. Until very recently human-development-wise the choices were next to nil. My dad's mum was treated for depression years back and it destroyed her kidneys. This was pre dialysis/transplant capability. She died aged only 49.

sheene

We are partly to blame - by 'we' I mean professionally (education). Not in the way you may think though. From an early age we feed them bullshit - 'you can be whatever you want to be' - then suddenly, 16, leave school, and they reach the dawning realisation that it was all lies and they are at the end of a cul-de-sac with nowhere to turn to and no-one to talk to.

I was mentoring a girl a couple of years ago - she wanted to be a vet, always wanted to be a vet, everyone had told her she could be a vet. Trouble was, she simply didn't have the acumen or intelligence to realise that dream. She had been fed a line. Eventually we managed to find a compromise - a veterinary nurse. Last I heard she is happy training for that now.

Stop giving these kids false promises and unattainable dreams - it will just end in tears or worse. It is a fine line between encouragement and realism, but the consequences of the the former, if it goes wrong, are just too onerous for a young mind to cope with.

The media also plays it's part in this. I remember asking a boy what he wanted to do when he left school - 'be famous' was his answer. The method of achievement of that fame was unspecified - he didn't care as long as he was famous - and sometimes suicide is the nearest they are going to get to that dream.

So many sad, misguided, shattered lives. It is very difficult to handle.

BadgeIsBack

Just a throwaway comment, MP. All I am saying is that some people pull through, others don't.

Cool. I wasn't sure if it was 15, or 16. I had the impression in some states it is very young. My point is that it's quite hard for a 15 year to die - of natural causes! So suicide has to feature.

That's what I am saying - there's not much else.

Superficial - no, I was talking about boredom, and less ability of some people to connect. Of course, regular readers of this forum know I like aspects of country life - it's other people who complain about the boredom in Australia, not me. It's other people who complain about friendships / relationships etc - I am just picking up on that.

paulry

It would be interesting to see historical stats going back as far as the 70s or further. I reckon it might provide some clues.

lesleys

Start around page 30 for Australia.
http://www.health.gov.au/internet/mentalhealth/publishing.nsf/content/70A18138437EEA87CA2577B5007B7783/$File/NSPS%20%20-%20A%20Comparison-%20UQ.pdf