Tragedy successful Ilioupoli has again raised the contented of teen intelligence wellness successful Greece. Experts ΚΛΙΜΑΚΑ warn: a situation seldom occurs suddenly.
Tragedy successful Ilioupoliwhere two 17-year-old schoolgirls recovered themselves successful a deadly situation, shocked Greek society and again raised a achy question: however protected are children and adolescents successful Greece from intelligence crises that they tin nary longer header with connected their own?
After the incident, experts ΚΛΙΜΑΚΑ – an enactment working successful the tract of termination prevention and supporting 24-hour Suicide situation involution enactment 1018said that such cases should not permission society indifferent. “How bash two underage girls get to the constituent where they extremity up connected the borderline together? This contented should not permission immoderate society indifferent.”says the presumption of experts, quoted by Greek media, including Keep Talking Greece And EfSyn.
Experts stress that self-harming and suicidal behaviour is usually not “sudden” oregon an unexplained reaction. More often we are talking astir a analyzable and multifactorial process, where intelligence vulnerability, familial factors, household and schoolhouse environment, a consciousness of security, loneliness, affectional overload and the inability to get assistance successful a timely mode are intertwined.
According to Suicide Observatories ΚΛΙΜΑΚΑcases of termination among minors person been recorded successful Greece implicit caller years. What is particularly alarming is that already successful the archetypal months 2026 maturation was noted successful the property radical 15–19 years old. These data, according to experts, amusement the request to strengthen mechanisms for prevention, aboriginal involution and support for the intelligence wellness of children and adolescents.
Alarming statistics
According to information published with notation to ΚΛΙΜΑΚΑthe statistics of termination among children and adolescents successful Greece successful caller years are arsenic follows:
- 2022: 4 children aged 12–14 years old and 7 teenagers aged 15–19 years old;
- 2023: 1 kid aged 12–14 years old and 9 teenagers aged 15–19 years old;
- 2024: 3 children aged 12–14 years old and 7 teenagers aged 15–19 years old;
- 2025: 1 kid aged 12–14 years old and 6 teenagers aged 15–19 years old;
- 2026: already 1 kid aged 12–14 years old and 8 teenagers aged 15–19 years old.
These numbers should not beryllium turned into panic, but they cannot beryllium brushed speech arsenic uncommon exceptions. Especially when it comes to teenagers, whose situation often develops quietly: without large statements, without signals evident to adults, sometimes down the façade of mean schoolhouse life, exams, correspondence and outwardly mean behavior.
CLIMAC separately emphasizes: successful a peculiar case, 1 cannot marque arbitrary conclusions without a full-fledged technological and investigative analysis. But such tragedies amusement the main happening – children and adolescents experiencing superior intelligence symptom should person nonrecreational support earlier the situation becomes critical. Sounds obvious. Like galore evident things, society usually understands this too late.
Why is it so hard for teenagers to inquire for help?
One of the cardinal questions aft the tragedy successful Ilioupoli sounds particularly difficult: why is it so hard for teenagers to talk astir their symptom successful clip and question help?
Experts ΚΛΙΜΑΚΑ note that intelligence vulnerability does not signifier successful emptiness. It is influenced by the prime of relationships, feelings of safety, affectional availability of adults, household and schoolhouse climate, and the beingness of support structures. If a teenager feels unheard, judged, devalued, oregon simply misunderstood, they whitethorn withdraw astatine a clip when assistance is needed most.
During adolescence, affectional symptom is often expressed indirectly. This could beryllium a sudden alteration successful behavior, refusal to communicate, changeless fatigue, irritability, nonaccomplishment of involvement successful usual activities, phrases astir the meaninglessness of life, oregon a feeling that there is nary future. But adults often property this to “awkward age”character, laziness oregon schoolhouse whims. Convenient, accelerated and catastrophically dangerous.
In the lawsuit of the tragedy successful Ilioupoli Greek media reported that 1 of the schoolgirls near a missive to her parents, where she spoke astir her galore years of hard intelligence information and fearfulness of panhellenic exams. Some publications cited fragments of this letter, but successful such topics it is highly important not to turn the child’s idiosyncratic symptom into affectional worldly for consumption. It is much important for society not to parse each phrase, but to understand why a teenager could consciousness so lonely facing the future.
Exams, crises and beingness without a information margin
On κοινωνικά networks, galore users drew attraction not lone to the idiosyncratic tragedy, but besides to the broader inheritance successful which the existent procreation of teenagers is increasing up. These children lived done a fiscal situation from an aboriginal age, then endured a pandemic and lockdowns, and present spot families facing precocious costs of living, costly rent, bushed parents and a changeless consciousness of instability.
Added to this is the unit of schoolhouse and exams. In Greece panhellenic exams are often perceived by teenagers not arsenic 1 of the stages of education, but arsenic an astir last verdict connected their aboriginal life. For an adult, this whitethorn look similar an exaggeration. For a kid who is already depressed oregon anxious, such a milestone tin go a intelligence wall.
The occupation is not the exams themselves. The occupation is that they often make an ambiance where nonaccomplishment seems similar the extremity of beingness alternatively than portion of increasing up. If there is nary schoolhouse psychologist, available help, an attentive big and a harmless space for conversation, the teenager is near unsocial with interior pressure. And present society, schoolhouse and state tin nary longer unreal that this is simply a backstage household problem.
Users connected κοινωνικά media besides pointed retired the deficiency of psychologists successful schools and the deficiency of imperishable support structures for children. This is not a insignificant issue. Prevention begins not when the tragedy has already occurred, but when the student for the archetypal clip stops coping, for the archetypal clip becomes silent, for the archetypal clip says that helium doesn’t spot the point, and adjacent to him is not an indifferent system, but a idiosyncratic who knows what to do.
Prevention is not conscionable a effect to tragedy
ΚΛΙΜΑΚΑ emphasizes that termination prevention among children and adolescents cannot beryllium constricted to the subsequent absorption of tragic events. We request systemic strengthening of intelligence wellness structures for children and adolescents, training families and schoolhouse communities to admit intelligence stress early, removing the stigma from seeking help, and processing aboriginal involution mechanisms earlier a captious infinitesimal occurs.
This sounds similar a minimum programme for a mean state. But successful practice, such measures necessitate money, personnel, governmental will and a rejection of the convenient illusion that teenage suffering is something that will spell distant connected its ain aft exams, holidays oregon different operation “pull yourself together”. It won’t work. Sometimes this is however society loses children.
It is besides important however the media talk astir such cases. Details of the method, retelling of idiosyncratic letters and affectional savoring of the tragedy tin origin harm. Responsible publishing should talk astir facts, risks, assistance and prevention, and not turn someone else’s decease into a play series. The world is already cruel capable for journalism to adhd gasoline to it for the involvement of views.
Where to spell for help
In Greece it operates 24 hours a time Suicide situation involution enactment 1018 organizations ΚΛΙΜΑΚΑ. She is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and is intended for radical experiencing suicidal thoughts, their loved ones, arsenic well arsenic professionals and organizations faced with situation situations. She reminds herself of this ΚΛΙΜΑΚΑ.
In an exigency situation, you indispensable interaction 112, 166 oregon to the nearest aesculapian services. If a teenager talks astir an unwillingness to live, implicit hopelessness, that helium has go a burden, says goodbye to loved ones abruptly, gives distant things, withdraws oregon is depressed for a agelong time, this cannot beryllium considered simply “drama” oregon “age”. This could beryllium a motion of existent danger.
Editorial comment
Tragedy successful Ilioupoli It shouldn’t stay conscionable different portion of quality that society will sermon for two days, beryllium horrified and forget. Here we are not conscionable talking astir two schoolgirls and not conscionable astir a specific family. We are talking astir a system successful which a teenager tin beryllium successful a intelligence situation for a agelong time, but assistance comes too precocious oregon does not travel astatine all.
Greece likes to talk astir the household arsenic the main pillar of society. But families unsocial cannot regenerate schoolhouse psychologists, authorities agencies, accessible intelligence wellness and intelligence services, trained teachers, and a civilization successful which asking for assistance is not considered weakness. Especially when families themselves person been surviving for years under the unit of crises, debts, precocious costs of surviving and fearfulness for the aboriginal of their children.
The worst happening successful such stories is not lone the nonaccomplishment itself, but the feeling that there could person been signals, but they were not heard. Therefore, the main question today should not sound similar a sensational “why did they bash this?”otherwise: what needs to alteration successful schools, families, medicine and society so that the adjacent teenager is not near unsocial with the thought that there is nary way out?
The reply to this question will not look from moments of silence, authoritative condolences and abbreviated bursts of nationalist sympathy. It will lone look when children’s intelligence wellness ceases to beryllium a topic of post-tragedy announcements and becomes a imperishable portion of school, κοινωνικά and aesculapian policies. Until then, each such story will sound similar an indictment of the big world, which again did not person time.
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