Emotional Dysregulation, Mental Health Disorders, and the Role of Treatment If you’re the parent of a teenager, you probably have direct, experiential knowledge of the ups and downs of their emotional life. And since you were once a teenager and lived through adolescence yourself, you can think back to what your emotional life was like when you were a teen. Was it smooth? Was it rocky? Did you understand all
The short answer to this question is that if your teen engages in self-harming behavior, which mental health professionals call non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), they are, statistically speaking, at greater risk for suicidal behavior than teenagers who do not engage in self-harming behavior. The big picture, however, with regards to the relationship between NSSI and suicidal behavior – meaning suicidal ideation (SI) and suicide attempts (SA) – is not simple. A
No one is perfect. Not even close. However, our culture celebrates perfection. Although everyone knows no one is perfect, no one will ever be perfect, and knows the pursuit of perfection is bound to end up in frustration, millions of us still chase perfection as if it were an attainable goal. What we’re talking about here is the pursuit of perfect physical appearance. The perfect face. Perfect hair. The perfect
When you first learn your daughter engages in the behavior informally known as cutting, you’re probably at a total loss. For many people – especially parents – it’s difficult to understand. You probably feel a mix of confusion, shock, and worry. You wonder why your child would want to harm themselves. And you may feel guilty and think that somehow, it’s your fault. With all these emotions swirling in your
What are the rates of suicidal ideation for teens in Beverly Hills? What percentage of high school teens in Beverly Hills use drugs? We have the answers. Every year, the California Department of Education Coordinated School Health and Safety Office administers a survey to public school students in school districts across the state. This annual survey – the California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS) – is anonymous and confidential. The survey
Palo Alto has received considerable attention in recent years from media and mental health professionals concerned about its alarming rates of teen suicide. In this affluent Bay Area town, seven adolescents ended their own lives in the span of just ten years. And, over the past decade, there has been an unusual amount of teen suicide clusters. The first suicide cluster in Palo Alto was in 2009-2010, when six students
If you worry your teen is getting off track this fall, you’re not alone. Parents across the country understand that the stress and disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic can have a wide range of negative consequences for their teens. Shelter-in-place orders, social distancing guidelines, and virtual school all mean things teens previously took for granted no longer happen the way they did. If they’re happening at all. Depending on
This year, Suicide Prevention Month – as well as Suicide Prevention Week and World Suicide Prevention Day – feels different than in years past. That’s because it’s taking place during a pandemic. With COVID-19 now being our new normal, many new things have become commonplace. Masks are as essential as our keys. Social distancing is expected. In many cities, virtual school is the rule rather than the exception. Most states
In Palo Alto, California, the teen suicide rate is about five times the nation’s average. In this affluent Bay Area town, seven adolescents ended their own lives in the span of just ten years. Many of these suicides happened in waves, or clusters. A suicide cluster, according to the CDC, is “a group of suicides or suicide attempts, or both, that occur closer together in time and space than would
Santa Clara County has received attention in recent years from media and mental health professionals concerned about the alarming rates of mental health issues among youth. For example, in Palo Alto, specifically, there were an unusual amount of teen suicide clusters over the past decade. Between two Palo Alto high schools, the suicide rate is four or five times the national average. And Palo Alto is only one of the
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