The topic of suicide among adolescents in Bashkiria is considered taboo. The world when you grow up is perceived as infinitely complex, incomprehensible and adult. Problems that seem like a trifle to elders often become desperate for adolescents. It is not easy to understand what can push a child to take a desperate step. Children, accustomed to hiding their feelings inside and coping with difficult relationships at school, pressure from adults and finding themselves, are often unable to ask for psychological and physical help. On December 7, on the air of Echo of Moscow in Ufa, the Minister of Education of the Republic, Aibulat Khazhin, cited statistics on child suicides for 2020 - 19 schoolchildren committed suicide. In December, the number of suicides, according to the Ministry of Health of Bashkiria, increased to 22. The number of tragic cases per year decreased by 9. According to statistics, 31 suicides were recorded in 2019. “There are suicides. Of course, there are fewer of them than last year, but this does not make me happy at all. Every suicide, every death of a child is a tragedy for us, parents, school, peers, classmates. We do not absolve ourselves of the guilt. We are worried about each case,”the official said. From October to December 2020, several stories about teenagers who voluntarily decided to pass away thundered in the media. So, on December 3, a 13-year-old boy in Ufa committed suicide. The preliminary cause of suicide is poor academic performance. On October 12, in Neftekamsk, a 17-year-old girl committed suicide at her friend's house. On October 2, in the Beloretsk District, an 11-year-old boy committed suicide in his own home. Most of the suicide cases, experts from the region's Ministry of Education said, were spontaneous. However, psychologists note that it is often impossible to identify a child who is going to commit suicide. They categorize suicides as emotional, to attract attention (demonstrative), manipulative, and true. “If a person has definitely decided to commit suicide, that is, with an inner intention to die, then it is almost impossible to find out about this. And it's almost impossible to help him. But such true suicides among adolescents, in fact, are few. Most often there are demonstrative and emotional suicides. If, for example, he breaks up with a loved one and commits suicide. He is overwhelmed with emotions that he cannot handle. It seems to him that it will always be so. There are cases when a child has strong controlling parents, a teenager sees a way out in suicide as the only act that he can do himself. That is, this is how he tries to regain control of himself,”says child psychologist Victoria Svechnikova. Signs of possible suicide, in her opinion, can be a prolonged depression, refusal to long-term planning and farewell rituals. At such moments, you need to pay special attention to the child. Psychologists admit that the main problem lies in the family and in the immediate environment. Growing up children need understanding, acceptance and love. Loneliness, misunderstanding of the world, pressure from school grades and unrequited love - these unpleasant moments can push a child to a desperate step. The main thing in such a situation, psychologists are sure, to make it clear that behind the back are parents and loved ones who love and support, no matter what. “The main prevention of suicides is relationships within the family. It is important to have a loved, loving, significant adult. So that the child knows for sure that someone is on his side. In fact, the problem is often that he has no one to talk to about "intolerable" emotions. The child needs to know that there is an adult who hears him and will not devalue his emotions. Therefore, the most important prevention is love in the family. A significant thing that slows down children is the thought “how will my mom / dad feel without me,” concluded Victoria Svechnikova. The child psychologist noted that adolescents often fail to fully understand that death is irreversible. In it, they see an easier way out than to experience disappointment from the family and a sense of guilt for an act. This is the problem of tabooing the topic of death in families, the psychologist believes, as well as the physiological characteristics of a growing child's body. “Teenagers consider themselves 'immortal'. They are a little out of touch with the topic of death. They do not understand that, in the first place, it is forever. And secondly, they are not aware of the consequences. Very often, parents are afraid to talk about death, because they themselves are afraid. It just makes sense to talk that this is not a way out of the situation, that this is once and for all. It is important to understand that adolescents commit rash actions, not because they are stupid, but because their part of the brain (the prefrontal cortex and the amygdala, which are responsible for planning, - ed.) Is only developing. " - concluded the specialist. In Bashkiria, there is a hotline for psychological assistance for adolescents - 8 800 7000 183, 8 (800) 200-01-22, 223-22-11. On the other end of the phone, psychologists are ready to listen to the child and provide help. Former employee of the hotline Maryam Soboleva admits that once a shift there are calls from teenagers with suicidal intentions. At such moments, it is important to make it clear to the interlocutor that he is not alone, he is understood and ready to support. “At least once a shift there is a call about suicidal thoughts and intentions. During the suicide attempt, the children called less often, but there were such cases. Usually, such calls are in the evening or closer to the night, when the child is left alone with himself, and all the problems come up. It is very important to let him know that he is not alone, that it is important for you that everything is fine with him, that his life is important to you. Remind him that it will hurt his parents to lose him. And to explain that any problem can be corrected, that he can be helped, that he will cope,”said Maryam Soboleva. The regional Ministry of Education reported that seminars are held annually on the topic of suicides and their prevention among the leadership of educational institutions, social workers, educators and school psychologists. According to Victoria Svechnikova, these measures are insufficient to adequately help the child through the difficult period of growing up. “School psychologists are very busy, in addition to working with children, paperwork, reporting. Therefore, there is not always enough time for more thoughtful personal work with children. What needs to be changed? It is necessary, at a minimum, to increase the number of psychologists working in schools. Then everyone will have time to do paperwork and communicate with children,”the expert concluded. Milana Skorobogatova, Ombudsman for the Rights of the Child of Bashkiria, noted that many departments are responsible for solving the problem. The authorities must work together to help every child in a difficult situation. “The first step in preventing such an auto-aggressive state is to identify early child's trouble. And in this case, all social and psychological services of the republic two or three times a year undergo total training and renewal. This is the most important task,”Milana Skorobogatova said. The second step in the prevention of suicide among adolescents, according to the Ombudsman, is to expand the network of social and psychological services. The Ombudsman especially emphasizes the need for psychologists to be within walking distance for schoolchildren and their parents. Suppressing repeated attempts by adolescents to die remains another important work.“We control each case, follow up for six months, how we work with the child and family. This kind of support, competent, with the involvement of doctors, psychologists and psychotherapists, leads to the fact that we nullify repeated attempts. This is extremely important. I would like to believe that the competent work of a specialist, specific attention to solving the problem will yield results,”concluded Milana Skorobogatova. The editors of GorObzor.ru remind the telephone numbers of the hotline for teenagers, where you can turn for help: CHILDREN'S TELEPHONE OF TRUST: 8-800-2000-18 TELEPHONE OF TRUST FOR YOUTH AND ADOLESCENTS: 223-22-11. SINGLE TELEPHONE NUMBER OF TRUST FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSISTANCE: 8 800 7000 183. Dear readers! 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