Research for each episode.

HOME

(source: womensaid.org.uk)

• At least 750,000 children a year witness some form of domestic abuse
• Domestic abuse is the single most quoted reason for homelessness
• Children who see this may: become depressed; have difficulty sleeping; have nightmares/flashbacks; be easily startled; have issues at school; develop an eating disorder; self-harm
• It can cause feelings of anger, guilt, insecurity, loneliness, fright, powerlessness and confusion.

(source: endviolenceagainstwomen.org.uk)

• Domestic abuse counts for 16% of all violence crimes
• It will affect 1 in 4 women in their lifetime
• It has more repeat victims than any other crime
• 
  

Drug

(source: national drug prevention)

• 25% of secondary school children in the UK have tried drugs
• 25,000 young people (under 18) receive treatment for drug abuse
• 12% of 16-19 year olds are regular users

(source: talktofrank.com)

COCAINE

• Is a powerful stimulant, but has short-lived effects.
• When smoked, it reaches the brain quicker than if snorted
• All types are addictive, freebase and crack (smoked) are more so
• Effects: Makes you feel on top of the world; very confident; makes you feel alert and awake; similar effects to Speed, but when snorted the effects last for about 20-30 minutes
• Risks: Can make you over-confident/aggressive; end up taking careless risks; raises heart rate & body temperature; reduces appetite; comedown period is long- causes depression; during comedown, there is a strong temptation to take more; damages cartilage in the nose; leads to anxiety/paranoia
• Further risks:frequent users crave more (expensive habit); breathing problems and chest-pains if substance is smoked; heroin sometimes taken to dull cravings- new addiction; powerful psychological dependance

HEROIN

• If taken in small amounts creates a feeling of warmth and well-being
• If larger doses are taken, the user feels sleepy and extremely relaxed
• First dose can cause dizziness and vomiting
• Effects: Feeling of happiness; slows down the way that the body works (like a strong pain-killer); effects can last for a number of hours and it is dangerous to use any other drug or alcohol during this time
• Risks: Overdoses can cause comas and sometimes death; respiratory failure; If you have been taking heroin regularly you may have built some tolerance, but if you then stop heroin, your tolerance will rapidly drop – and you risk an overdose if you simply take the high dose used to; if mixed with alcohol or other drugs, can be very dangerous; it sedates you and stops you coughing properly,which creates the risk of choking on vomit; sharing needles puts you at risk of getting infections such as Hepatitis B and C/ HIV AIDS
• It is highly addictive and the brain will develop strong cravings of it. If used on a regular basis, you need to keep increasing the dosage to get high, and eventually it needs increasing just to prevent nasty withdrawal symptoms.

Lust

(source: rapecrisis.org.uk)

• 1 in 5 women (aged 16-59) have experienced some form of sexual abuse
• 85% of survivors/ victims of sexual abuse have known their attacker prior to the incident
• There are many reasons why some women stay in intimate relationships that are violent or abusive. These include: societal pressures; to prevent disruption to her children;a lack of alternatives e.g. financial constraints; fear that leaving might lead to further violence; shame about speaking out about what has happened; difficulty recognising or accepting what is happening; blaming themselves for what is happening; hope that their partner's behaviour will change.
• it is possible that you will be feeling recurrent depression or anxiety; you may suffer panic attacks, phobias and/or flashbacks. Maybe you are filled with anger and shame and/or feel worthless.
• It is estimated that 85,000 women are raped on average in England and Wales every year
• Over 400,000 women are sexually assaulted annually
• 28% of women victims, do not tell anyone about their assault
• 15% of victims report it to the police

(source: Endviolenceagainstwomen.org.uk)

• A third of people believe women who flirt are partially responsible for being raped

Mind

(source: interview with a teenage sufferer of clinical depression.)

• Feel a sense of emptiness
• Find it hard to communicate with people, and prefer to spend time alone
• No longer feel joy in activities they use to love
• Didn't feel like there was a reason to be depressed
• Counselling: At the time, felt it was stupid and a waste of time; in hindsight, realised that it was helpful for finding the root for their problems.
• Turned to things such as drink and self harm to feel something
• Rooted back to a collection of problems, rather than a particular trigger
• Went back to childhood
• Wasn't visibly depressed, hid all problems away from others

(source: mind.org.uk)

Depression

• feel helpless; easily tearful; cut self off from others; restless/agitated; isolated/unable to relate to people; unusually irritable or impatient; low spirited
• low self confidence; can't sleep; blame self a lot; find it difficult to speak; no energy; change eating habits
• Others around them should encourage them; listen and not blame them

Bipolar

• Severe mood swings
• When Manic: feeling euphoric; restlessness; talking very fast; racing thoughts; lack of concentration; lack of sleep; a sense of own importance; poor judgement; aggressive and risky behaviour; increased sexual drive
• When Depressive: sense of hopelessness; emotionally empty; feeling guilty; feeling worthless; chronic fatigue; changes in appetite; forgetfulness
• Mania usually starts suddenly and lasts between two weeks and four to five months. Depression often lasts longer, on average around six months. It can last longer, but usually less than a year.
• A stressful environment, social factors or physical illness may trigger the condition. Sleep disturbance can also be an important contributor.

(source: youngminds.org.uk)

INDY'S STORY

• always angry and trying to make sense of life
• felt like it was all too much to carry
• left exhausted at the simplest of things
• getting up in the morning seemed like a pointless and painful hassle

(source:the telegraph.co.uk- article from 25/08/2011- interview with a 16 year old who had depression)

AMY FELTHAM'S STORY

• started feeling depressed at the age of 13, went to GP about it
• was told she'd have to wait to see a specialist
• her parents had to pay for a private clinic, where she was immediately put on Prozac (made things worse)
• a few months after she was put on medication, she tried to take her own life. Then she was referred as an emergency case to the NHS
• unsure about where the roots of her illness came from
• bullying at school, she didn't think it affected her, but self-esteem started to ebb
• started to self ham. The pain helped to feel something other than the depression for a while
• "I was so low I didn't want to go on."
• didn't want to do anything

Exam

(source: mind.org.uk)

• Stress= inability to cope, mental weakness. Can be due to hormonal changes.
• Pressure from society to do well
• Can be caused by: faulty education system; pushy and unaware parents; more expectations

(source: childline.org.uk)

• Can develop anxiety in the lead up to exam results
• Stress can be caused by pressure from adults (either parents or teachers)
• Anxiety can make you feel sick and feel as if you are going crazy
• you may become tired, upset, shaky, light-headed, dizzy or frustrated

(youngminds.org.uk)

• Can cause cause issues with eating, sleeping, anger and anxiety levels
• On top of emotional instability or mental health problems, it can be the last straw

(source: bbcnews.co.uk- article from 16/08/2006)

• If grades do not meet expectations, they can become a source of depression and humiliation
• Those at risk tend to have a sensitive nature, find it hard to cope with criticism and disappointment, or find it difficult to find solutions to everyday problems
• Tend to be perfectionists and set themselves unrealistic targets
• There is a fine line between parental encouragement, and them exerting too much pressure
• Teachers often say that students can do better, but this isn't always the case

(source: bbcnews.co.uk- article from 11/06/2004)

• From 31 Mar 2003- 1 April 2004, childline received over 900 phone calls asking for advice about exam stress
• These children can feel very desperate and alone
• Some children feel as if they'll only be accepted/valued if they get high exam results
• Some children feel that it'll add to their parent's problems if they fail their exams
• They don't want to let their teachers and parents down

(source: the guardian.com- article dated 18/03/2008)

• around 73% teachers (Association of Teachers and Lecturers) believed that children were under more pressure than ten years ago
• 46% of these teachers reported that they has students who self-harmed
• manifestations of stress include: crying; withdrawal; verbal abuse; aggression against other pupils and fighting

"We believe that young people face intolerable strain from an education system which cannot stand failure. From an early age, children face the pressure to perform in tests to boost their schools' league tables"Then they take on parental demands to get into their choice of secondary school and later university. They are anxious to fit in with their peers, and then when they don't fit in, are bullied via text, email and social networking sites."

(source: thetelegraph.co.uk- article dated 25/08/2011)

• Record numbers of 16-18 year old have sought mental health advice ahead of exams.
• In 2010/2011 the charity YoungMinds received 6332 calls to their helpline; 884 of those were about 16-17 year olds; 39% of these were about exam stress

(source: www.kidshelp.com.au)

REASONS FOR EXAM STRESS

• Inability to accept failure or uncertainty
• Pessimism or negative self- talk
• Unrealistic expectations (from themselves or parents)
• Unpreparedness
• Life transitions
• Family/ Relationship difficulties
• Financial problems

(source: www.st-andrews.ac.uk)

What is Exam Anxiety?

• excessive worry about upcoming exams
• fear of being evaluated
• apprehension about the consequences
• experienced by many normal students
• not mysterious or difficult to understand
• manageable by following a plan of helpful suggestions

Psychological factors include:

• feeling little or no control over the exam situation (rather than knowing and applying exam strategies)
• negative thinking and self-criticism (rather than being one's own best friend)
• irrational thinking about exams and outcomes:

• irrational beliefs "If I don't pass, my (family/partner/boss) will lose respect for me/I’ll lose my job!"
• irrational demands "I have to get at least a Merit or I am worthless."
• catastrophic predictions "I'll fail no matter what I do—there’s no point."

PEER

(source:www.nspcc.org.uk)

• 38% of young people have been affected by cyber bullying
• 31, 599 children called childline in 2011/12 about bullying. This was 10% of their calls
• Bullying can leave you feeling anxious, depressed and lonely
• 46% of young people say that they have been bullied at some point in their school life
• 38% of disabled children worry about being bullied
• 18% of children who said they were worried about bullying, said that they wouldn't tell their parents
• In the 2011/2012 year, bullying was the main reason that boys phoned childline
• 55% of LGBT youth have experienced homophobic bullying at school
• 38% of children have been cyberbullied, and 28% of this did not tell anyone.

(ditchthelabel.org)

• up to 69% of British youth will have experienced bullying before their 18th birthday
• 23.5% of victims consider self-harm
• 17.3% will truant to avoid bullies
• Over 2.5 million youths are bullied each year
• 550,547 are bullied every single day
• 7 of 10 teens are bullied
• 25.1% of bullied young people consider suicide
• 20.2% claim it has a negative effect on their studies
• 34.2% says it negatively affects their social lives
• 42% said bullying had a detrimental effect on their self esteem and personal welfare
• 2, 457, 800 british teens will be bullied this year
• 589, 872 will self harm
• 618, 950 will want to die
• 417, 826 will play truant

Research- Suicide Statistics

(source: Samaritans webpage)

In the UK

• Suicide rate for males is at his highest since 2002
• Significant increase since 2010

Around the World

• A person dies from suicide every 40 seconds
• More people die from suicide than from murder and war combined
• Between 10-14% of people have suicidal thoughts in their life

Young People

• Suicide- 2nd biggest cause of death for 15-19 year olds
• over 100,000 adolescents die from suicide each year
• In the UK and ROI, around 16 people make the decision to end their life everyday

(source: BBC Health)

• more than 6,000 in the UK and ROI kill themselves each year
• The suicide rates from young men has increased; whilst women's rates are on the decrease
• vulnerability to suicide can arise from genetic predisposition, personality traits, and lack of support
• Many suicide cases involve those with a long history of mental health problems such as depression, eating disorders, schizophrenia 
• Women have expressed that relationships are frequent factors
• Other factors: physical illness, alcohol/drug abuse, social isolation, housing/money/job issues, sometimes impulsive: a sudden upset
• Common sources of prevention: Strong religious faith, marriage (strong relationships and having good support behind you.) 
• In England and Wales, the number of attempted suicides amongst young people, is rising each year

(source: Befrienders Worldwide- part of the WHO)

• In the last 45 years suicide rates have increased by 65% worldwide
• Young people are the group at the highest risk
• Youth suicide is increasing at the greatest rate

(source: Teachervision webpage)

• Every year, 10 in 100,000 youth commit suicide
• Every day, 11 youth suicides
• Every 2 hours 11 minutes, somebody under 25 commits suicide
• Estimated that for every completed suicide, there are 50-200 attempts

(source:Bullyonline)

• In the UK there is a suicide every 82 minutes
• Around 19,000 UK adolescents attempt suicide each year
• Accounts for 30% of deaths in the 15-24 age bracket

Four Little Letters Project: The Initial Idea

Just recently, somebody told me that the first step to leading a revolution is communicating the dream. Now that first sentence has probably made you think, "What the heck is this girl talking about?"Basically, there is an idea that has been forming in my head for a while now, and I hope that I will be able to translate these ideas to the big, crazy world of the internet.

first things first: Who am I?
     My name is Rehana Nurmahi, I'm 16 years old and from Southampton, England. I am currently doing AS levels in English Literature, Film Studies, Sociology, Classical Civilisations and this- my Extended Project Qualification. I am one of those people who constantly watch the world around them and can't help but think further on the little things. My dream is to be an author/ film director who encourages young people to think about things deeper; in a way that is poignant yet gripping (basically I want to be John Green).

One thing that really frustrates me is the lack of empathy and understanding when it comes to teen suicide. A girl in my class once said (in response to a girl crying about a friend who committed suicide 3 years ago) "Honestly, it's not that big a deal. It happens, she should just get over it."No. I don't think she should get over it because it's still something that happens in this country every day; and something that not enough people care about. This is where the 'Four Little Letters Project' comes in...

So- Here's the mission.
     Love. Pain. Hope. Loss. Hurt. Safe
Each of these words is made up simply from four little letters, yet they all can have significant bearing on us. They can define us; even becoming the pivotal notions between life and death. Dramatic I know, but it's a sad truth. What we say to others each and every day of our lives can change their mood, perspective, and sometimes the choices they make. Sometimes, these small words can be the reason that a person ends their life, and so many people do end their lives. To this I have another four letter word: STOP. Around 11 young people take their lives every single day. To put that into perspective, that is the equivalent of what was the whole of my gcse music class, plus our teacher.

     One of the reasons that suicide has become such a big issue is because it's a taboo topic. Adults fear that by mentioning it, young people will be encouraged to do it. Sorry to say something controversial, but teenagers can think for themselves and not stupid. Where there is a lack of communication, a lack of understanding arises. We as youth are led to believe that all those who kill themselves act out of selfishness, to get attention, or are just plain pathetic. Most of these miscommunications come from social media. However; now with the help of social media, I believe that we can clear the air with some truths on the topic. This is where my project comes in. In a similar fashion to the 'To This Day Project', the 4LLP aims to raise awareness amongst young people, of some of the reasons that teenagers kill themselves. Awareness. Nothing more, nothing less. I aim not to be a charity but to encourage those struggling, and friends of theirs, to go people (as well as charities) that will offer them support. To speak out. `to share their story with others.

     What I hope to create is a 7 part YouTube. Each episode will be the suicide note of a teenager who has killed themselves with a different motive. Each of these motives will be a four letter word. I know it sounds depressing, but I wholeheartedly believe that we as the next generation of leaders, politicians, celebrities and potential world changers, should face our problems and pave the road for a new day; but to do that, we must understand the last. Every single one of us can bring about some change in the world through little actions.

     The name of my project is 'The Four Little Letters Project' because I hope to emphasise how little things-like four letter words- can impact the bigger picture. The seven provisional parts I have lined up are:

Mind: from the perspective of a teenage girl struggling with mental illness.
Drug: the teenager is a young man who has struggled with drug abuse for years.
Home: from the eyes of a child whose parents struggle with domestic abuse.
Lust: a girl raped by her boyfriend can't handle the judgement of her peers who don't believe her story.
Peer: from the eyes of one of the many people who are bullied.
Fail: in the lead up to exams, this young person feels inadequate and decides to give up.
Time: every day is 9-5. The aims in life all seem to be financial or vain. This young person doesn't want to fall prey to the trap.

Other ideas I have are:

Sold: told from the perspective of a victim of human trafficking
Food: an eating disorder patient can no longer live up to the expectations of society
Bent: a teenager os disowned by his parents after telling them about his sexuality
Cash: from a child in a home struck by poverty
Sins: a young person from a religious background believes that they have a messed up too many times and is beyond forgiveness.

I hope to set up a website, with links to charities, stories/forums, blogs, advice and media. I also want to create a page on the website called 'Reasons to Keep Living' which contains fun and uplifting new and videos from around the world. I will update the YouTube channel regularly, with episodes as well as explanations and commentaries. I also hope to use other forms of social media: including facebook, twitter, tumblr. I have also contacted a few big name you tubers, to ask for their support with this project.

     This is a topic that I am very passionate about, and I am lucky that I have got a team of people to help me, who care just as much. I hope that this project will change people's outlook on life and death, and that people will be more open to helping those with suicidal thoughts/ tendencies.

    I will update this blog with the information I found out as I do research, as well as my progress on the writing process.


   

Celebrity Culture

Celebrity Culture is the structure that influences celebrities. A celebrity is someone who we give high status to in society, because they are gifted in their specialist area, or have ascribed status. They are the people who are in the public eye and are given attention to by the media. This position of power, affects the way they live- their culture.

For celebrities, it is normal to be recognised when out in public, and to make appearances in the media, where as for most people; this is not a social norm. They are used to having freedom in where and how they spend their money, which is why some celebrities go and eat in fancy restaurants, and take private jets on their holidays. The term ‘Celebrity’, has become a powerful phrase, due to mass media and globalisation.

Although the glamorous party lifestyle is widely sought after, the culture has many downsides.

There is a lot of pressure to be what the public expects of you and this can lead to lots of people getting stressed. There is also the fact that the ‘sex, drugs and rock and roll’ lifestyle is encouraged, which has led to many deaths including Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, and more recently- Whitney Houston.

There is a constant harassment from the paparazzi, and this adds extra stress, as it means that celebrities cannot have the privacy that most ‘normal’ people take for granted. Some celebrities have even sued the paparazzi for taking pictures of them when trying to do everyday things. It makes life hard, as it means they can’t even go to the gym, or do some shopping, without the world finding out. If the harassment that celebrities got, was given to people who weren’t in the media, a huge fuss would be made; however, since they are people with status, we just assume that they are used to it.

Another worry in celebrity culture is young people who are brought into the industry. Many people believe that because young people are more easily influenced, being in the spotlight that can have a psychologically damaging affect on them. This theory has reined true in many cases, with stars such as Lindsey Lohan, Amanda Bynes and Miley Cyrus, now getting little respect due to them trying to evolve from childhood stardom, leading them to make bad choices, and in the case of some- illegal choices. There is also the other side, where the pressure has affected them and given them mental illnesses. Examples of this include Demi Lovato and Tom Fletcher (McFly).

In conclusion, though the world may put on their tinted glasses to view the ‘bright, dazzling world’ of celebrity culture, the reality is a harsher affair. Although, would there even be the issues of this culture if it wasn’t for the status that we, the public, give to celebrities? Were we to treat them as just people rather than some sort of God-like enmity, then surely ‘celebrity culture’ would mean a different thing entirely? In the words of John Green- “What a treacherous thing, to believe a person is more than a person.” 

Rehana Nurmahi.