At Populum, we donate to Teen Lifeline because we believe in the incredible support they provide to teens who are struggling with suicide. Our mission as a brand is to bring wellness and peace of mind to everyone, and we feel that we can pursue this mission in ways that go beyond providing CBD. Every quarter, a portion of our proceeds go to nonprofit organizations that we feel help and advance the well-being of people. After talking with Teen Lifeline, we learned a lot of about coping techniques that can help suicidal teens, and we wanted to share a few of those with you.

Three Coping Skills May Help Prevent Teen Suicide

Chances are, you’re related to a teenager or you know one. But, are you aware that the time between Spring Break and the end of the school year can be the most stressful time of the year for teens? According to Teen Lifeline, this anxiety can even lead to a noticeable increase in suicidal thoughts.

Teen Lifeline, a nonprofit organization located in our hometown of Phoenix, Arizona, helps combat this problem with a 24/7/365 teen suicide prevention hotline, staffed by trained volunteer peer counselors ages 15 to 19.

Officials at Teen Lifeline are expecting to respond to a predictable 10 percent increase in calls to the hotline between late March and early May.

At Populum, we donate to Teen Lifeline because we believe in the incredible support they provide to struggling teens.

This quarter, our blog features a Q&A with experts from Teen Lifeline to get insights into some of the most common issues related to teen suicide.

Teen Lifeline Clinical Director Nikki Kontz answers our questions about how we can help prevent teen suicide.

What’s causing stress for teens?

It’s tougher to be a teenager in 2019 than we may realize.

Anything from midterm exams to being separated from daily contact with friends can leave teens feeling overwhelmed and alone between spring break and the end of the school year.

There’s a lot of added pressure that teens feel as they try to navigate a world that isn’t always good at helping them cope with diversity and change.

Can you help protect teens from thoughts of suicide?

According to recent studies by the federally-supported Suicide Prevention Resource Center, teaching teens different coping skills may help protect them from developing risk factors like considering suicide as an option to solve problems.

As adults, we know that happiness isn’t a constant feeling of euphoria or being problem free all the time. Life happens. It’s important to teach our teens how to deal with the challenges that will come their way throughout their lives.

Our kids need to be taught to reach out for help and support, even when they may have lost hope.

What are the coping skills parents should be teaching teenage children?

There are three top coping skills that we walk through with every caller. We encourage parents to teach:

• Talking About Your Problems. Teenagers need practice verbalizing their feelings. And when they do tell you about what’s going on in their lives, they need to feel validated.

Not every teen feels comfortable talking with their parents. That’s okay. Help your child identify other appropriate adults they would feel comfortable talking to, like a relative, a teacher, a coach or a member of the clergy.

• Solving Problems. The ability to consider viable options to solve problems is a skill that will benefit your teen for their entire life.

When your teenager is facing a difficult situation, sit down together and brainstorm options for creating healthy solutions. Evaluate each option by having your child think through the pros and cons. Let your teen make his or her own choice and check in regularly to see if the situation is improving.

Make sure your teen understands that they won’t be able to fix every problem right away, and that’s okay.

• Relieving Stress. Since most problems will not be solved overnight, teens need ideas for how to relax during the midst of the problem they’re dealing with.

Try to align your recommendations with your child’s personality and interests. For instance, you could suggest exercising, getting enough sleep, meditating, listening to music, dancing, drawing, journaling or reading a good book to help your teen detach from the stress of the situation.

For more information about preventing teen suicide, visit TeenLifeline.org.