Change Your Brain Every Day - Teenagers & Suicide: What to Do if You’re Worried about Your Child

Episode Date: August 13, 2019

Suicide is now the second-leading cause of death among young people (the first is automobile accidents). What’s the reason for this epidemic? In this episode of the podcast, Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana Amen explain the factors involved in the rising suicide rate, as well as give you some practical tips for what to do if you’re concerned about a loved one.

Welcome to the Brain Warriors Way podcast. I'm Dr. Daniel Amen. And I'm Tana Amen. In our podcast, we provide you with the tools you need to become a warrior for the health of your brain and body. The Brain Warriors Way podcast is brought to you by Amen Clinics, where we have been transforming lives for 30 years using tools like brain spec imaging to personalize treatment to your brain. For more information, visit amenclinics.com. The Brain Warriors Way podcast is also brought to you by BrainMD, where we produce the highest quality nutraceuticals to support the health of your brain and body. To learn more, go to brainmd.com. Welcome back. We're talking about young people and mental health issues, and we're so glad you joined us. Even if you don't have young people

in your life, if you're listening to us, you may have struggled at some point. And often these issues began in childhood or in adolescence. Did you know, on average, it's 11 years between the time a child first has their symptom and their first appointment to get help. That is so sad. And we've got a lot of kids in our life, right? That we sort of take care of and that are in our family. And I don't know one of them that hasn't had some issue at some point. So it's more normal to have a problem than not to have a problem, at least if you're connected to us. Right. But we're very aware of it and we're very proactive. So I want to start off with a testimonial. This is A New Brain Warrior by Sherry Luna.

This podcast has helped to instill an appreciation for brain healthy living and has been a great daily reminder that health is wealth. I'm so glad that I can take this awesome advice with me everywhere I go. It's been such great listening while taking my daily walks around the neighborhood. I hope to become a devoted brain warrior and continue down this path of wholesome well-being. Thank you so much. That's awesome. So in the last episode, we were talking about mental health days, which you call brain health

days, which I love. And let's talk about why this is so important. I mean, suicide's going up like crazy. Well, it's so concerning. It's an epidemic. But since 1999, cancer has declined 27%, while suicide has gone up 33%. And the answer is why. And I believe we're just working on the wrong paradigm. We see depression as an illness as opposed to a cluster of symptoms that have so many different causes. And the final act of someone who's depressed is suicide. Now, in adolescence, because you think you're going to live forever, they don't really see the behavior as the end, even though it is. And often, people who kill themselves do it when

they're drunk. They do it when they're intoxicated. They've had thoughts, but they had some measure of impulse control. And when you drink or do drugs, it often takes away your control. So you act out without forethought. So these numbers are alarming. So in 2017, 5,016 males and 1,225 females between the ages of 15 and 24 in the United States killed themselves. That's very alarming. I mean, that's just crazy. But my question is, why so many more males than females? that women make more attempts, about four times the number of attempts, because their ability to communicate is better generally. So they'll use the suicide gesture as a cry for help.

When a male decides to do it, he's less likely to tell someone about it, and he's more likely to use violent means. Oh, that makes sense. More likely to shoot himself, hang himself. Yeah, girls don't really like blood that much. Well, you're a nurse, surgical ICU nurse, so you sort of. Yeah, I've got, doesn't bother me. Doesn't bother you. It doesn't bother you. So it's the method they choose and also underlying level of communication for pain. So men or males, especially teenage males, will often not say they're sad, but they will act mad.

And there's a huge connection between irritability, aggression, and suicide. So we think that's one of the major reasons for the gender difference. And what's interesting is that according to the study in JAMA, the numbers, they're the highest they've ever been. It's not just because we're collecting data better. They're actually saying that, they're the highest they've ever been. It's not just because we're collecting data better. They're actually saying that the numbers are the highest they've ever been, um, taking into consideration, you know, population, everything else, the numbers are going up, um, you know, as far as percentage and the female suicide has doubled from 2000 to 2017. What's going on? Well, I think, as we alluded to in the last podcast,

there are a lot of things going on. Our diet's bad. And that is changing. From 20 to 2017, though, not that much. Well, it's not getting better. It seems to me at least to be getting worse. Everything's processed. Everything's packaged. Everything's quick. Social media- That's worse. Really wasn't much of a factor in 2000. No. No. And now it's everywhere. Okay. so you just touched on something really important. Well, and we have a 15-year-old, almost a 16-year-old. And she's actually pretty good with social media. Because she knows it makes her sad.

And why does it make her sad? For her, she actually notices two things. When she spends too much time looking at any screen, she starts to feel a little wonky, like physically wonky. But she also, she'll notice that she's like, why does everyone look like this? Why does everybody? And she just starts to notice that she's comparing all the time. And she doesn't like that because when she doesn't look at it,

she feels great about herself. So, but she notices that. Well, it's so funny, you know, because I've been criticized a lot over the years for my work. I mean, because what we do is very different. And I find if I hang out with critical people, I feel bad. And if I just don't allow them in my life, I just feel so much happier about myself. You know, I don't think Chloe's unique.

I think this is a very common thing with teens. Like I said, we have a lot of kids in our lives. Our niece is the same way. Other kids that we know are the same way. This is a common thing with kids, so much so that a lot of girls are doctoring their photos because they need to feel like they can compete with what's going on in social media,

which is part of the problem. And then they don't have a level of authenticity. And then they feel bad about that. So, I mean, that is a new love. That's something new to the scene for girls. So, well, for all kids. But girls, I think, are affected by it, you know, tremendously. Well, and when you think about it,

suicide is the 10th leading cause of death overall, which is insane that, you know, the 10th lead in the top 10 people choosing to leave earth early. It's the second leading cause of death among young people after motor vehicle accidents. And it may, if this trend continues, become the first. Especially because now there are less kids dying in motor vehicle accidents because of Uber and there are more kids dying in motor vehicle accidents because of Uber. And there are more kids dying of suicide because that's going up.

I really thought about scanning all the Uber driver brains. I know. That's a little scary. I'm like, you know, we're just thinking that Uber is safer, and I'm not sure it is. So if you have a teenager you're worried about, what can you do? So one, you can take our free brain health assessment online and know, well, which brain type do they have and make sure you give them the nutrition and supplementation that can help them. So that's one thing to do. We also have a course, Brain Thrive by 25, that they can take. Independent research was in 16 schools

showed a decreased drug, alcohol, and tobacco use decreased depression and improved self-esteem. So teaching them to love their brains. And what I like about that course is it really helps them to understand what telling a kid, Oh, eat healthy, eat healthy. They don't really understand why they don't make the connection. It really helps them from a practical standpoint to understand why certain foods, food is medicine or it's poison, right? So why certain foods do tend to lead to things like depression and anxiety, whereas other foods tend to settle those down supplements. We talked about that before, vitamin D, fish oil.

They can radically help for some people. Certain supplements just really help. So it's really helpful. That course is really great for that. Well, and so from a supplement standpoint, I think all kids should take a multiple vitamin. For sure. Because it just gets them the nutrients they need.

Because they're not usually. In their diet. All kids should be taking omega-3 fatty acids, fish oil. And many young teenagers are vegetarians for moral reasons. But it just plummets the omega-3 level in their body. And drives up omega-6. It drives up omega-6 and it drives up inflammation, which is a major cause of both depression and dementia.

Let me just touch on something. It doesn't have to do that. You can be conscious. You can pay it if you do it right. Sadly, kids tend to think that being a vegetarian means you can eat French fries and donuts and they don't really get it. It's like, oh, I'm just not eating animal protein. It doesn't work like that. So you can be a healthy vegetarian and you have to know what you're doing. Yeah, I know one of our doctors was a vegetarian. His family's from India.

And he's one of the most unhealthy people I've met. Because he thought he could eat French fries and donuts. Pasta and chips, right? All the things that weren't good. But when he became clear. So diet, supplementation, getting them more in the sun, actually measuring their vitamin D level. And another thing that's happened in the last 20 years that people don't talk about much is the dermatologist won. They made us afraid of the sun. We have to be conscious. And so, but vitamin D levels have plummeted. It's like 80% of the population is now low in vitamin D. And when you're low in vitamin D, leptin, the hormone

that tells you to stop eating doesn't work. So you're more likely to gain weight. Bad food. And so if you're worried on social media about a body image issue and now you're overweight, it really, and the fat on your body also increases inflammation in your body. You see how it could spiral into a negative. So I just think everybody should measure their vitamin D. If you're in a place like Oregon or like Seattle or Michigan, then you may need to take a supplement. And the recommended daily allowance, which is 400 international units a day. And Neurovite Plus, ours, it has 2,000 units. That's five times the RDA because that's the dose that I think can get

people into a healthy range. And for some people, it takes a lot more than that. I mean, it depends on how- Yeah, I take 7,000. I take 7,000 and that keeps me in a normal range. It just depends on you and what you've got going on with your health and you need to have it measured. So one thing I wanted before we end, I want to make sure if you know someone who's struggling with depression or suicidal thoughts, please don't let it go and think it's just going to get better. Help this person reach out. You can go, you can call our clinics. You can talk to someone at our care center. You can call the Suicide Prevention Lifeline. It's 800-273-8255.

That's 800-273-8255. Yeah, so. going to actually text home to 741-741 for immediate assistance because, you know, especially for young people, they often aren't used to calling. They're used to texting. Yeah. So this is really important. We really appreciate you guys listening and taking this seriously pass this on to someone you know if you know someone's struggling um we want our goal is to help decrease the stigma and um you know we want to help you get this message out so make sure you leave a comment and one thing to tell your kids um if one of their friends tells them that they're suicidal and they say but please

don't tell anyone always tell them never to listen to that you have to tell someone because that's the responsible thing to do it's a really good point and it's a it's a very high percentage of people who later kill themselves that told someone they were going to do it. And so just tell your kids, if somebody ever says that to you, say, I really care about you. I have to tell someone. And even if that person gets mad, it's better to be mad than dead. Right. I love that.

That's so true. So please leave a comment. Let us know if this has been helpful to you. Pass this on to someone that you know if they need it. And just, you know, you can go to brainwarriorswaypodcast.com, leave a comment. You can go to Tana Amon on Instagram or Daniel Amon, and we want to hear from you. Let us know if this has been helpful. Thanks so much.

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