Clinical Dilemma: “Underreporting vs Risk of Contagion”

I’ve had hesitations posting about this story due to my view on contagion and the importance of following recommended guidelines on reporting on suicide. But this story could be a sad example of why there are recommendations about not reporting on suicide. Or there could be no connection between the two events. It’s very hard to tell.

This is the second girl in less than a month that has live-streamed their suicide. On 1/22/17, 14 year old Nakia Venant live-streamed her suicide on Facebook. On December 30th, 12 year old Katelyn Nicole Davis also live-streamed her suicide.

These are terrible events that didn’t need to happen. My message continues to be that we as adults need to be connected to our kids. We need to be connected to them about school, family, friends, their emotions, their successes and their failures. We as adults need to proactively be involved with our kids and our community of kids lives to help them when they are emotionally struggling. Sometimes kids will tell us when they are hurting. Sometimes they do not. Sometimes they share their hurt on social media and others (kids) may see the hurt but not know how to help.

You may not know how to help, but you may be the person that see’s the hurt and is able to connect the child to someone who can help. Become involved in the society that kids live in today. Social media. You might be the one to see a child hurting and reach out and help them get to a better place in life. Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death for young people. Let’s join digital hands and make that stat change. Below is the link to the Suicide Prevention Lifeline. A great resource if you need help.

~ Ryan