Among fifteen to nineteen year olds, suicide is the third leading cause of death. Since the nineteen sixties teenage suicide has doubled in the United States. More than seven thousand teenagers kill themselves yearly. This rise in teenage suicides has happened because of an increase in a psychological disorder called manic-depressive disorder.
A psychological disorder is a condition in which behavior is judged to be atypical, disturbing, and mal-adaptive. Manic-depressive disorder, which is also known as bipolar disorder, is when a person experiences prolonged hopelessness and lethargy until eventually returning to normality. In the manic-depressive episode, there is a period of at least two weeks in which a person has a depressed mood or loses interest or pleasure in activities. Other symptoms can include weight gain, weight loss, sleep changes, feelings of worthlessness, guilt, difficultly concentrating or thinking, and thoughts of death plans.…
