Model's Suicide Scares Moms

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Model's Suicide Scares Moms

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

filed under: teen

Is your kid displaying suicide warning signs?

The apparent suicide of 20-year-old model Ruslana Korshunova shocked the fashion world as well as moms everywhere. How could a girl who seemingly had it all end her life so abruptly?

According to the NY Post, Ruslana's star was on the rise in the modeling world. The stunning beauty had been featured in ads for DKNY, Vera Wang and Christian Dior among others, and she had been called "the next big thing" in Vogue. Although there are reports that she'd been feeling "lost," was sick of modeling, and suffered from stomach ailments--not to mention that she was reportedly the center of a love triangle with her ex-boyfriend and her latest flame, both who claim she was in love with them--most who knew her were absolutely shocked she'd taken her own life.

This tragedy got us thinking ... how would we know if our kid wanted to kill herself? We called clinical psychologist Dr. Lisa Boesky, and author of When to Worry: How to Tell if Your Teen Needs Help--and What to Do About It for guidance.

Dr. Lisa says the following behaviors are important "warning signs" of teens who may be thinking about ending their lives:

Gives away possessions of value

Becomes withdrawn and isolated

Exhibits abrupt personality change

Drops out of usual routine

Neglects hygiene

Engages in self-destructive or risky behavior

Makes statements about suicide, dying, or being "gone"

Looks or sounds like feelings of depression are deepening

Is curious, fascinated, or preoccupied with death

Talks about feeling inadequate, hopeless, or guilty

Other signs moms should be aware of include statements like: "I won't be a problem for you much longer," '"I wish I were dead," "You'd be better off without me," "You probably wish I would just die."

Certain risk factors also increase a teen's suicide risk, says Dr. Lisa. If your teen suffers from a mental health disorder, uses alcohol/drugs, recently experienced a major stressor, is disruptive or aggressive, has been arrested, or is a perfectionist, be particularly vigilant. Teens who end their lives typically have a combination of risk factors AND warning signs.

If your teen is talking about wanting to die or has made a suicide attempt, he or she must be attended to immediately. Any suicide attempt--no matter how "harmless" it seems--requires a comprehensive evaluation by a qualified mental health professional who is knowledgeable about teen suicide. The evaluation should determine: 1) your teen's level of risk, 2) whether he or she suffers from a mental health or substance abuse disorder, 3) what current stressors are present, and 4) which strategies need to be in place to ensure his or her safety.

To download Dr. Boesky's suicide prevention checklist and tips, click here.

Have you ever suspected your teen was suicidal? Share your story with other moms below.

10 comments so far | Post a comment now >>

i wonder if she was a depressed person anyway, or if this is due to modeling. i can’t believe what modeling does to those young girls.

- Shell56

Posted 07/02/08 01:35 PM

such a sad story — this one and all of the young kids who take their own lives. We need to listen to our kids.

- Anonymous

Posted 07/02/08 01:37 PM

This is so sad. I feel really bad for her family-It’s amazing how the people who love you can be so unaware of how you are feeling. We all need to slow down and start paying attention to the people closest to us!

- Stephanie

Posted 07/02/08 01:41 PM

OMG it’s terrible-it’s amazing someone so young and beautiful who seems to have it all and you never really know whats TRULY inside of someone. Must have also been hard for her family to do anything because they were so far away..

- jackie

Posted 07/02/08 01:48 PM

This is so sad. My heart goes out to everyone who doesn’t realize how special they are or how much they mean to many people’s lives.

- Anonymous

Posted 07/02/08 01:58 PM

It’s such a sad thing to see. Sometimes you just don’t know what’s going on in someone’s head. I mean some people exhibit warning signs. Others don’t. Just goes to show you that you have to be good to people and as supportive as you would hope they are to you.

- Anne

Posted 07/02/08 01:58 PM

People talk about those in terms of ones who apparently “have it all” its because these people are high achievers not “lucky”. High achievers put the most amount of pressure on themselves, far more then anyone would realise. They suffer debilitating thoughts of not being able to measure up, or disappointing someone after they have made such great accomplishments. Then there are just the dark hours, that only those who have been there can relate to. Depression is a terrible illness, that a lot of people overlook, and trivialise. It comes with a sense of shame, and most people would be surprised at the lengths sufferers go to hide it. Which is why there are so many “I didn’t see the signs” conversations happening around the world as we speak. I feel for her family, but mostly, I feel for her, those last hours must have been absolute torment for her broken mind. May she now have the peace that was so elusive here.

- Bec

Posted 07/02/08 05:59 PM

the modeling world is harsh on the girls, all though most wouldnt know. imagine having to live your life day by day getting literally 4 hours of sleep a night, eating under 1000 calories, excercising and the pressure of management and media. the pressure to be perfectly fit, which leads to a lot of health issues. what we see of models is only half their lives. we only see them in photos and runways, but not in their personal life. maybe the stress just got to her? i can imagine how hard it would be.

- Anonymous

Posted 07/02/08 07:59 PM

That poor girl. Some people could say that she’s on top of the world but there’s no telling what was going on in her mind. She might have had money and power but obviously didn’t have peace. If we don’t have peace, what good is anything else??

- SugarPlumFairy

Posted 07/03/08 12:39 PM

Modeling is a tough industry and alot of girls stress out cause of it. And there are lots of creeps in the industry hopefully they werent harrasing her.

- Esther

Posted 07/09/08 03:00 PM

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Model's Suicide Scares Moms

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