{"id":78159,"date":"2025-09-05T01:58:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-05T05:58:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?p=78159"},"modified":"2025-09-05T01:58:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T05:58:10","slug":"what-suicidal-teens-say-matters-most-to-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/what-suicidal-teens-say-matters-most-to-them\/","title":{"rendered":"What suicidal teens say matters most to them"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Why would a suicidal teenager choose to live? It\u2019s not the kind of question most of us ever want to ask. Suicide is the\u00a0third leading cause of death<\/a>\u00a0among 15-29 year olds worldwide. Much of the research and media coverage still focuses on why teens might want to die. Far less often do we ask the opposite, equally urgent question: what makes life worth holding on to?<\/p>\n

In our\u00a0new study<\/a>, we asked adolescents who had been hospitalised for suicidal thoughts or behaviour to name their three strongest reasons for staying alive. Their answers, gathered during safety planning (a standard part of care where patients and clinicians work together to identify coping strategies and reasons to keep living) offer a rare and unfiltered glimpse into the motivations that keep young people going, even at their lowest point.<\/p>\n

The single most common word in the dataset was \u201cmy\u201d. That may sound insignificant, but it tells us something powerful. Adolescents weren\u2019t speaking abstractly about life or philosophy \u2013 they were talking about their people, their goals, their pets and their plans. This reflects a sense of belonging, which\u00a0research shows<\/a>\u00a0is one of the strongest protective factors against suicide.<\/p>\n

To capture these patterns, we used\u00a0corpus-driven language analysis<\/a>, a method that examines the frequency and use of words across large sets of text. In this case, we analysed the exact words of 211 adolescents aged 13\u201317 who had recently been admitted to a US psychiatric hospital for suicidal thoughts or behaviour.<\/p>\n

Our goal was to identify common themes and better understand what keeps suicidal young people tethered to life \u2013 in their own words.<\/p>\n

When we looked more closely at the nouns, three themes stood out.<\/p>\n

First, their relationships. Family (especially mums and younger siblings), friends and pets featured most often.<\/p>\n

Second, future hopes. Teens mentioned careers, dreams of travel, or simply a curiosity \u201cto see what the future holds.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thirds, possessions and independence. They talked about getting a car, moving out, owning a house or even just \u201cdoing my own makeup.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among the most common verbs were action words like \u201cwant\u201d, \u201cbe\u201d and \u201csee\u201d \u2013 forward-looking and full of intention. Adolescents spoke of wanting to grow up, travel, become someone (\u201ca welder\u201d or \u201cprofessional wrestler\u201d, for example) and finding happiness. Even in distress, their language carried movement, desire and a drive toward the future.<\/p>\n

Adjectives added emotional colour. Words such as \u201chappy\u201d, \u201cgood\u201d, \u201cokay\u201d and \u201cbetter\u201d reflected modest, grounded hopes for relief, while \u201cown\u201d suggested control and self-expression: \u201cmy own space,\u201d \u201cmy own style,\u201d \u201cmy own life.\u201d<\/p>\n

And within the dataset, the responses were highly individual. Some were deeply emotional: \u201cI saw how my dad cried and I don\u2019t want him to cry like that again,\u201d or \u201cTo not make my mom sad.\u201d Others were more specific: \u201cI want to read 100 books this year,\u201d or \u201cI want to get some bad-ass tattoos.\u201d One patient put it simply: \u201cYOLO\u201d (you only live once).<\/p>\n

From despair to desire<\/strong><\/h4>\n

At first glance, asking suicidal teens what keeps them alive may seem paradoxical, since media reports and\u00a0suicide research<\/a>\u00a0tend to concentrate on why young people want to die. But\u00a0research shows<\/a>\u00a0that the majority of young people who experience suicidal thoughts do not go on to attempt suicide.<\/p>\n

Among those who do,\u00a0some later report<\/a>\u00a0a stronger sense of connection and purpose after surviving.<\/p>\n

In our study, 97% of adolescents were able to identify three reasons to live, despite the emotional turmoil that had brought them to hospital. This suggests that even in crisis, many young people retain a desire to live if they can anchor themselves to something \u2013 or someone \u2013 that matters.<\/p>\n

Some feared the consequences of suicide, not for themselves but for others. A few cited religious concerns. Others worried about the physical pain involved. But overwhelmingly, the reasons for living were hopeful, relational and future-oriented.<\/p>\n

A tool for therapy, not just research<\/strong><\/h4>\n

These findings carry clear clinical implications. Someone\u2019s reasons for living shouldn\u2019t be treated as just another box on a checklist. They can be a springboard for conversation and healing. When a teen says, \u201cI want to be a vet,\u201d or \u201cI want to take care of my little sister,\u201d it opens the door to meaningful, personalised treatment.<\/p>\n

Helping adolescents articulate their reasons for living can build rapport, clarify therapy goals and enhance motivation. It can also be used to challenge unhelpful thoughts \u2013 like \u201cI\u2019m a burden\u201d or \u201cNo one cares\u201d \u2013 with concrete, self-generated evidence to the contrary.<\/p>\n

Most importantly, reasons for living remind teens, and those who care for them, that even in amid despair they still have something to live for.<\/p>\n

While risk factors such as trauma, mental illness, bullying and identity struggles remain well known, we too often overlook the anchors that help teens hold on.\u00a0A 2024 US survey<\/a>\u00a0found that nearly one in ten high school students \u2013 around 9.5% \u2013 attempted suicide in 2023. That number reminds us adolescent suicide isn\u2019t abstract, it\u2019s real and it\u2019s happening now.<\/p>\n

By tuning into their own words, whether it\u2019s their sister, their dog, a concert, or just the dream of getting some \u201cbad-ass tattoos\u201d, we can start to understand what makes life feel worth living for a young person considering or attempting suicide. Sometimes the smallest hope is enough to keep someone going.<\/p>\n

Author Bios:<\/strong> Lauren Alex O’Hagan is a Research Fellow, School of Languages and Applied Linguistics at The Open University, Ana M. Ugueto is Associate Professor, Baylor College of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics at Texas Children’s Hospital and Mathijs Lucassen is a Reader in Mental Health, School of Health and Medical Sciences, City St George’s at the University of London<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Why would a suicidal teenager choose to live? It\u2019s not the kind of question most of us ever want to ask. Suicide is the\u00a0third leading cause of death\u00a0among 15-29 year olds worldwide. Much of the research and media coverage still focuses on why teens might want to die. Far less often do we ask the […]\n… learn more→<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[109017],"tags":[136889],"coauthors":[11733],"class_list":["post-78159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health-care","tag-suicide"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat suicidal teens say matters most to them - World leading higher education information and services<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/what-suicidal-teens-say-matters-most-to-them\/\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What suicidal teens say matters most to them - World leading higher education information and services\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Why would a suicidal teenager choose to live? It\u2019s not the kind of question most of us ever want to ask. Suicide is the\u00a0third leading cause of death\u00a0among 15-29 year olds worldwide. Much of the research and media coverage still focuses on why teens might want to die. 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