According to a depressing new analysis of U.S. emergency-room data by Montreal Children's Hospital, E.R. visits related to suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts among children between the ages of 5 and 18 nearly doubled between 2007 and 2015. "It's an alarming trend," says lead researcher Brett Burstein, who attributes the spike in E.R. visits to more stress and depression among kids, as well as greater awareness of warning signs among parents. As UPI notes, roughly half the E.R. visits involved children 13 and older. [UPI]
This just breaks my heart. I absolutely believe these findings, though. Our children are so overwhelmed with social media and constant contact from friends via text (or whatever medium) it can be stressful. Things never fully settle for the day like they used to.
now.