CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Teen suicides in our area increased in 2022, despite a decrease in teen suicides nationwide.
More people died by suicide in the U.S. last year than in any other year on record. Nueces County Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities case manager Amanda Ashcraft said we have observed similar increases as well.
"We do see 18, 19, 20 year old's, so younger people, who their only experience with crisis is typically pretty severe," she said. "A lot of emotional, not able to regulate emotion. And a lot of times you can go from zero to a hundred thinking I have to find a way out."
The CDC reported at least 49,449 lives were lost to intentional self-harm in 2022, which equates to more than 14 deaths for every 100,000 people.
Ashcraft said she remembers one teenager's thoughts of suicide that showed how many younger people handle the idea.
"He had never disclosed to anyone that he was having these thoughts for years."
Amy Kramer, who's in charge of emergency services at MHID said that our area slightly lags behind the rest of the country in offering these services.
"Not being in a large metropolitan area and also having the college and the base and things here in Nueces County, I think that changes some of our resources that we have available," he said. "So therefore the numbers are a little higher if not on trend with the rest of the country. But we are working on providing those resources here in Nueces County."
Kramer said that in 2022, MHID received 8,689 crisis calls. As of this year, they've handled 8,803 crisis calls, indicating a slight increase, especially among young people.
"After COVID, going back to school, social factors, things like that, I think maybe during those times some things are underreported at times but we're getting back on track of what is accurately happening in our county," she said.
Ashcraft that her profession is combatting outdated misconceptions.
"There seems to be an old antiquated notion that admitting a weakness emotionally equals weakness as a person. To be honest, reaching out for help is literally the strongest thing you can do," she said.
The mental health professionals said this applies across the board. They are seeing increases in pre teens through seniors but more and more programs are becoming available.
You can call the crisis hotline at 888-767-4493.
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