15 yr old girl commits suicide (Palo Alto: renting, centers, association)

[steel7]

The girls name is savanna rose. We will never know what was going through her mind at the time. Its obvious she was upset & wasnt thinking straight. She was a adolesent & had the usual mixed emotions. I wonder what sparked the argument between her & dad. Heres a lil info about the accident ( i now think she didnt intentionally kill herself). I could be wrong though. http://www.ocregister.com/news/polic...in-struck.html

[Steve97415]

Originally Posted by coyoteskye

How can a sick culture (and the culture is indeed sick) with sick adults raise healthy kids?
It cannot!

As long we hold the position that individuals are incapable of making decisions that serve their own best interests...that they are just lemmings who are condemned to absorb the prevailing culture of their environs...then that would be the case: a sick culture cannot raise healthy kids. But it isn't always "a culture" that does the child raising, and there isn't just one culture out there. Ultimately we all choose which drummer's beat we will march to. Behaving rationally and deliberately is a life ethic that is learned. There are lots of families raising well-adjusted kids in turbulent times.

There is a well-documented connection between a low ability to deal with emotional stress and attempts at self-injury. We all have times when the brain becomes saturated with norepinephrine and other stress hormones. The question is, how much self-control are you able to retain under that kind of brain chemistry? Can your neocortex veto reactions from the cerebellum?
My initial reaction was the this event was reminiscent of how animals often end up dying in fight-or-flee scenarios when intuitive escape responses throw them into the path of a predator or an automobile, or over a cliff. However, the report in the OC Register states "The girl wandered the tracks for about 30 minutes before she was hit by the train." So it seems that there was ample opportunity for contemplation of consequences.

At no point did I assign blame to the teen herself or anyone else. I only characterized the nature of the disease broadly over the whole population. How the infection is contracted in any specific case is only speculation.

[Lifeshadower]

RIP Savanna Rose and my condolences to the family.

As a young man growing up in this society, its hard for people who aren't in my age group to understand what young people go through nowadays when it comes to emotional hardships. However, it all starts with the family influencing self-esteem more than anything else. If an argument can escalate to something like this, then there were obviously deep underlying issues that needed to be resolved. However, in the interest of this dead child, I just want to pay my respects and leave the speculation and politics out.

[BlueyedCat]

My heart and prayers go out to her family.

[Huckleberry3911948]

suicide has a big effect on the survivors. dont allow the terrible negative thinking to pull you down.
disappoint your enemies, live.

[coyoteskye]

Originally Posted by Steve97415

As long we hold the position that individuals are incapable of making decisions that serve their own best interests...that they are just lemmings who are condemned to absorb the prevailing culture of their environs...then that would be the case: a sick culture cannot raise healthy kids. But it isn't always "a culture" that does the child raising, and there isn't just one culture out there. Ultimately we all choose which drummer's beat we will march to. Behaving rationally and deliberately is a life ethic that is learned. There are lots of families raising well-adjusted kids in turbulent times.

There is a well-documented connection between a low ability to deal with emotional stress and attempts at self-injury. We all have times when the brain becomes saturated with norepinephrine and other stress hormones. The question is, how much self-control are you able to retain under that kind of brain chemistry? Can your neocortex veto reactions from the cerebellum?
My initial reaction was the this event was reminiscent of how animals often end up dying in fight-or-flee scenarios when intuitive escape responses throw them into the path of a predator or an automobile, or over a cliff. However, the report in the OC Register states "The girl wandered the tracks for about 30 minutes before she was hit by the train." So it seems that there was ample opportunity for contemplation of consequences.

At no point did I assign blame to the teen herself or anyone else. I only characterized the nature of the disease broadly over the whole population. How the infection is contracted in any specific case is only speculation.

I really appreciate your post.
Where i think we may disagree simply has to do cause.
Speaking generally, the children and teenagers are expressing / manifesting the ills of an extremely toxic and imbalanced dominant culture and, again, to hold the most sensitive and impressionable among us responsible for being sick, ie; having low EQ's (as you stated in your first post), misses the underlying cause(s).
Most adults don't even have the discernment and objectivity to realize the extreme negative impact of the dominant culture and cannot sufficiently protect / remove themselves from its influence ... no way can a child or the average teenager escape its impact.

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by Lifeshadower

...its hard for people who aren't in my age group to understand what young people go through nowadays when it comes to emotional hardships. However, it all starts with the family influencing self-esteem more than anything else.

There are many pathways to suicide. Impulsivity, grief, anger, depression....and many more. Making broad judgements about how a society or a family is at fault is not helpful. Teen suicide is not indicative of this culture alone and has, unfortunately, been going on for far longer than the past several decades. Teenagers are more suseptible because with incompletely formed prefrontal cortexes, they often do not realize that their impulsivity can lead to such a permanent outcome.

[coyoteskye]

Originally Posted by CA4Now

There are many pathways to suicide. Impulsivity, grief, anger, depression....and many more. Making broad judgements about how a society or a family is at fault is not helpful. Teen suicide is not indicative of this culture alone and has, unfortunately, been going on for far longer than the past several decades. Teenagers are more suseptible because with incompletely formed prefrontal cortexes, they often do not realize that their impulsivity can lead to such a permanent outcome.

Though "judgments" aren't helpful it is important to understand why and how both family and the culture effect us ... and in this case young people.
There has always been depression, despair and hopelessness ... it's part of the human condition and suicide has been an aspect of human existence throughout the ages.
However, though i don't know statistics, i imagine that the teenage suicide rate has dramatically increased in just the last 20? 30? 40? years (although at the same time awareness and preventative measures are more prevalent today) and surely the combination of dysfunctional family life and an extremely imbalanced and troubled culture is very significant.
I heard once (from a friend who works with the Lakota Sioux ... but don't quote as that percentage may be off but it's an extremely high rate) that the suicide rate among the Sioux of South Dakota is something like 500% over the worldwide average!
Why do you figure?
Impulsiveness and anger and even grief are not causes of that ultimate and drastic choice although they're most likely present in someone who ends his/her life.
The choice to die (we're not talking about the many dubious choices young people make ... this is about death) is born of utter despair and hopelessness and though i understand what has been said regarding the prefontal cortex, it's not an essential cause ... a factor but not a cause.

[Lifeshadower]

Originally Posted by CA4Now

There are many pathways to suicide. Impulsivity, grief, anger, depression....and many more. Making broad judgements about how a society or a family is at fault is not helpful. Teen suicide is not indicative of this culture alone and has, unfortunately, been going on for far longer than the past several decades. Teenagers are more suseptible because with incompletely formed prefrontal cortexes, they often do not realize that their impulsivity can lead to such a permanent outcome.

I never made any judgments about culture. You were reading way too much at my statement. Whatever happens at the physiological level, I don't want to debate. However, having a good support system is still very important, no matter how well you cut it (be it psychological or physiological). That's why I place importance on the family because for most people, that's the basic level of support.

Reducing someone's death to a series of chemical reactions that is beyond most medical science at this point is insulting. I'm sorry.

However, to stay on topic, a girl is dead. It doesn't matter how or why, the outcome is still the same. RIP

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by Lifeshadower

...to stay on topic, a girl is dead. It doesn't matter how or why, the outcome is still the same.

I think it does matter how or why, in order to help prevent kids from thinking that suicide may be an option to a problem which they believe to be insurmountable.

According to a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the suicide rate for 10-to-24 year-olds has increased, after a period of decline. There are ways that parents, educators and health care professionals can help intervene.
Teen Suicide Rate: Highest Increase In 15 Years