Suicide is not about dying, it is about escaping pain.   Most people who die by suicide are having a  mental health problem like depression, bi-polar disorder, addiction etc. , but not all.  In young people, impulse control is less ingrained and a variety of situational stimuli piling up can precipitate a crisis that culminates in a suicide attempt.  Sometimes but not always, symptoms of suicidal thinking can be seen by others.  Young people don’t have the experience yet to know that bad things can happen but life can and does get better if you just hang in there. 

Local crisis centers can help someone who is suicidal or people who are concerned about friends or family members.  There is a national number for information or someone to talk to 24/7. 1-800-273-TALK (8255) .

 

 

• The student, Theodore (Teddy) Graubard, was “a well-liked junior.”
• He “lived a few blocks from the school, [and] was active in school groups, including the Math Olympiad.”
• “He played varsity football and designed the team’s website; he also threw the discus for the school’s track squad.” He also had a younger brother at Dalton.

• Officials don’t know why he may have wanted to crawl out the window of an empty eleventh-floor dance studio, but a teacher stopped him moments before he did to ask what he was up to. “When the teacher returned to her office down the hall, “ reports the News, “Theodore took off his jacket and left it with his book bag on the floor. He crawled out the top of the window and leaped.” This was at approximately 11:15 a.m.