‘Alarming’ number of children seen for suicide attempts at Fort Worth hospital in August
A nearly record number of children have been admitted to Cook Children’s Medical Center this month after attempting to die by suicide, the Fort Worth hospital said.
In August, 29 patients were admitted to the hospital after suicide attempts, making it the second worst month for adolescent suicide attempts since 2015, Dr. Kia Carter, medical director of psychiatry at Cook Children’s Medical Center, said in a press release.
“We’ve definitely seen a high number of adolescent suicide attempts over the past couple of months, especially during COVID-19,” Carter said in a news release. “We’ve also seen younger kids endorse suicidal ideation.”
In 2020, 192 kids have been admitted for attempting suicide. That’s more than double the amount of patients seen during the same time period in 2015. The majority of patients treated for self-harming are girls between the age of 13 and 15, but Carter said she’s seen patients “as young as 4 years old talking about wanting to die.”
“We’ve seen a huge increase with younger kids knowing what death is because of video games,” said Dr. Carter. “We have to assess their cognitive level and find out if they know what death means or do they think it’s like the video game where they die, but get a backup player.”
Many of the suicide attempts have involved overdoses, most of which are of over-the-counter medicines. Since January, 31 children have been admitted to Cook Children’s for taking too much Benadryl. At least three of the Benadryl overdoses were linked to a TikTok challenge, but most of the children were intending to harm themselves.
The increase in suicide rates among 10- to 24-year-olds is a national trend, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Suicide rates in that age range have increased 57.4% from 2007 to 2018, according to a study released Sept. 11. The coronavirus pandemic can also affect children and young people’s social, emotional and mental well-being, according to the CDC.
Another major cause of depression or suicidal ideation in children is an issue with gender or sexual orientation, Carter said. About 30% of children assessed at Cook Children’s report issues with sexual identity or gender, and many might feel hopeless or that they do not have someone to talk to.
“There are some kids who physically don’t feel comfortable in the body they’re in and they don’t feel that they relate to the other girls or the other boys. We see this occur a lot around age 10,” Carter said in the press release.
She suggested parents keep an open mind, listen to their children and get them in to see a licensed professional counselor.
“If you’re resistant to it, your child’s going to shut down and that can cause a whole realm of depression, hopelessness and not wanting to be alive anymore,” she said.
Signs of depression to look out for include:
- Declining grades
- Lack of concern about appearance and hygiene
- Changes in eating and/or sleep
- Self-injury such as cutting
- Less motivation
- Alcohol/drug use
- Acting highly anxious or agitated
- Recklessness
If you feel your child needs help, please talk to your pediatrician or call 682-885-3917 for a referral to Cook Children’s Behavioral Health Center.
This story was originally published September 25, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
