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<DOCID>teen_suicide_speaker.doc.txt</DOCID>
<AUTHOR>Jessica Bunke</AUTHOR>
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On Monday, February 5 Bev Cobain, a registered nurse with experience in psychiatric and mental health nursing and a nationally known educator, gave a presentation at Lake Superior State University to students and members of the community on teen depression and suicide. Cobain spoke about possible ways to prevent suicide and the types of people prone to it.

Cobain mentions that a person doesnt have to be depressed to want to kill themselves, although these individuals are more prone to.  She also goes on to say that kids these days have more to deal with than several decades ago.  Kids can be filled with turmoil from divorces, losing a family member, moving away in the middle of the school year, a friend moving away, or losing a job.  Teens lose their security and dont know how to cope and this in turns leads to anguish.  Cobain says that anguish is the driving force behind suicide.  The signs of a person considering suicide are very subtle.  Often, teens wont tell their parents, because they feel their parents will not understand their problems.  They are more likely to talk to a close friend that they trust.

Cobain points out that when a persons turmoil gets to be too much, theyll scan their mind to see what they can do.  Many times theyll feel they cant talk to anyone, and return to scanning their mind.  In the process, the idea of suicide will appear and they may come to accept it as a way to be free from the pain.  As they travel more towards they thought of suicide, their mind becomes a tunnel and cant think or see anything else around them.

Cobain recalls her struggle with suicide and how she finally reached out to a friend. She speaks that afterwards all her anguish and turmoil disappeared.  Now, shes glad she went through that experience, so she can relate to those teens in the same position.

Talking to someone can go a long way to helping teens dealing with their problems.  Cobain stresses that adults should be more aware of kids having trouble cooping and what theyre thinking.  Friends need to speak out to someone if their best friend just told them they were having thoughts of suicide.  May times someone just needs to listen.  The most important thing a person could do is to ask The Question.  That question is Are you having thoughts of suicide?

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