tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8160415.post7373207871577975705..comments2024-03-15T08:55:29.800-04:00Comments on The Musical Priest: Teenage SuicideAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01087811856300842855noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8160415.post-80151991411652801972013-01-11T01:11:23.778-05:002013-01-11T01:11:23.778-05:00I'm surprised that the study you refer to does...I'm surprised that the study you refer to does not include sexual orientation as one of the "forces" involved in teen suicide. From what I've read, gay teenagers commit suicide at significantly higher rates that straights. I suppose it has to do with the issue of relationships, i.e. loss of relationships when their orientation becomes known, and difficulty in establishing satisfactory relationships.<br /><br />This is why the Church's call for acceptance of homosexual persons needs to be much more clearly and widely expressed, especially among teenagers.naturgesetzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15268507379933286863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8160415.post-35061099613960634432013-01-10T20:21:59.452-05:002013-01-10T20:21:59.452-05:00Hi Robin,
Thank you for this. While I did write t...Hi Robin,<br /><br />Thank you for this. While I did write the post about the in-room computer with the intent of levity, it should be said that teenage depression is not a laughing matter. I'd bristle when students would say, "I"m so depressed" when all they meant was, "I'm having a lousy day." Perhaps it is a 6th sense, but I think I'm pretty good at detecting students who are having an off day and those whose days are simply off...the latter group, of course, I'd pursue. <br /><br />A skill that is acquired only through experience is that of discernment...one has to learn how to 'read' the situation and respond accordingly. Kids say many things: some they say to test you as a listener (shock and awe), some to test your trustworthiness, other things to demonstrate their vulnerability. I found that it took patience and time to know how to distinguish these and, when necessary, to challenge in a gentle yet firm matter and seek more help when needed. <br /><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01087811856300842855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8160415.post-59174453593095174092013-01-10T20:11:27.180-05:002013-01-10T20:11:27.180-05:00Dear Ryan,
I have considered emailing you private...Dear Ryan,<br /><br />I have considered emailing you privately, but I can't find an email address on your blog, and this post has convinced me that I need to speak.<br /><br />Some time ago you wrote about this young man's death and subsequently, if I have the timing right, you wrote a fairly humorous post about another young man, holed up in his room and staying up late at night, with his dragging around early in the mornings resulting in his parents asking you whether he might be depressed.<br /><br />That's when I first considered writing, as I immediately saw a connection between the two posts. I am 99.999999% certain that your diagnosis of computer-in-bedroom was correct. However, the fact that the student's parents raised the matter of possible depression is a serious matter, and not one to be glossed over with humor -- especially not by a teacher, someone upon whom parents rely to perhaps see and understand things that they might be missing.<br /><br />Few parents see the signs of serious depression in a young person, and those who do generally make a pit stop at denial. For parents to consult a teacher about the possibility of depression in their child takes tremendous courage.<br /><br />Our son was not a teenage; he was 24 when he died of suicide. We did not see what has in retrospect become excruciatingly apparent -- a years-long and exceedingly, as you say, complex battle against depression by a brilliant and creative young man. The world's loss as well as ours.<br /><br />Teachers and professors are in a unique position with respect to adolescents and young adults -- often witnesses to things of which parents are unaware, and sometimes able to convince parents to attend to matters they might otherwise ignore. <br /><br />One of the many worst aspects of surviving a child's suicide is having to live with the endless questions for which there are no answers. If parents themselves raise the issue of depression, an opportunity may present itself to address a situation that might otherwise, even years down the road, gather momentum and turn into a catastrophe. Even an apparently obvious case of too-much-computer-too-little-sleep should not be dismissed without further investigation.<br /><br />Thanks for reading and, again, I am sorry about your community's terrible loss.Robinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01898073277524952683noreply@blogger.com