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- I'm Patricia and this is my son, Tyrone.
- Today we are here to discuss suicide.
- [Girl] I know what it is.
- [Woman] What is it?
- When you kill yourself.
- How's that make you feel?
- Sad.
- Why would somebody kill themselves?
- You know, maybe they are trapped in a situation
that they just, life is just so unbearable.
That's possible.
- Do you know what depression is?
- I think it's when you're like really sad
and you don't wanna talk.
- A chemical imbalance in our brains that could just
make people feel like they're sad all the time or tired.
- I'm always tired, doesn't mean I wanna kill myself.
- You shouldn't commit suicide period point-blank
'cause it's just not the right thing to do.
There's other ways to solve a problem.
- You say you're depressed,
people tell you, you know, just shake it off.
You know, if you break your leg,
nobody tells you to walk it off.
Your bone's sticking out of your leg, ah just walk it off.
You know it's the same type of thing,
except for it's the main organ
that controls your whole body that's broken.
- Why do we think that such a large part of teens die?
- They don't feel like they belong in the world.
- Yeah, that's probably part of it.
They don't feel like they belong.
- Do you see that as a form of just giving up?
- Mm-hmm.
I see them just giving up,
just don't wanna deal with it anymore. (sighs)
- Have you ever had thoughts of committing suicide?
- When I was younger, yeah, but I always got out of it.
I feel like middle school is a terrible time for everyone.
I felt more of like running away and isolating myself
and just kind of, I mean it sounds brutal but like
starving myself to death, I guess.
- I don't know if you remember last year at my job,
we lost like six of our students in that year,
and out of those six, two of my students committed suicide.
The way people was treating them.
The way life treated them and people didn't help.
- Oh, this one kid killed himself 'cause of bullying.
- Yeah.
That's why it's important to speak up and get them help.
- When I was in the deepest part of my depression,
I had several times I thought,
you know, while I was driving down the street,
what would happen if I just turned the car
and turned it off this cliff or off this ledge.
I'd have it all played out in my head
on how everything would go all the way up to the funeral.
- Have I had thoughts of suicide?
- Have you?
- Yeah.
- No.
- Yeah baby, I have.
I've been real low.
Some people get so low, so depressed that
they don't see the light at the end of the tunnel.
I pray you don't get that low.
If you get that low, please talk to me.
If you don't wanna talk to me, talk to somebody.
- Do you think people have the right to commit suicide?
- No, not at all.
- Even if you're just in a lot of pain every day?
- Yes, even if you're in a lot of pain.
- Do you think suicide is selfish?
- You know, when I was younger I did, but now I don't.
I always think selfish is
I'm gonna do something that's strictly for me.
Now looking back on it, I was trying to eliminate
anybody that cared for me in my life, because I didn't want
anybody to be hurt if I decided to take my life.
- Pushing us away was the best answer.
- Yes.
Suicide doesn't end pain,
it just transfers it to your loved ones.
That's the only reason I'm here.
- Remember grandma Denise?
Every day she was in more and more pain.
So I didn't wanna lose her, I didn't wanna go,
but I also didn't wanna come in every day
and keep looking at her in so much pain
and there's nothing I can do,
there's nothing the doctors can do and she wanted to die.
I wouldn't want anyone to do it but I do understand.
And for me, I don't know if I would consider it suicide
but I know it is because she said yes to it,
but I actually didn't think of it that way until just now.
(slow percussion music)