Teen Suicide is on the Rise and This is Why

This article presents a sociological diagnosis of rising teen suicide rates in Canada, identifying the root cause as Toxic Socialization—a systemic and intergenerational pattern of emotional, psychological, physical, and spiritual abuse and neglect. Sosteric challenges dominant biomedical and individualistic explanations, exposing their ideological function in mystifying structural violence and deflecting systemic responsibility. Drawing from the Lightning Path model, he argues that teen suicide is a predictable outcome of Disconnection caused by unmet Needs (N in the HEALING framework), persistent Ideological assault (I), and normalized Lying to self and others about pain, cause, and social origin.

Sosteric, M. (2017, October 4). Teen suicide is on the rise and this is why. The Conversation.

• Original URL: https://theconversation.com/teen-suicide-is-on-the-rise-and-this-is-why-83563
• Canonical URL: https://repo.lightningpath.org/articles/journalistic-pieces/the-conversation/files/teen-suicide-is-on-the-rise-and-this-is-why.pdf
• Type: Public Sociology / Applied LP Analysis
• Keywords: Suicide, Youth, Toxic Socialization, Disconnection, ACEs, Mental Health, Needs, Ideology, Lying

Theoretical Integration

This article is situated firmly within the Lightning Path Human Development Framework. It draws directly on the following LP concepts:

• Toxic Socialization: The violent, alienating, and ideologically contaminated childhood conditioning imposed by the Regime of Accumulation.
• Disconnection: The severance of the Physical Unit from the Resident Monadic Self, resulting in psychic, emotional, and existential crisis.
• HEALING Framework: Highlights how Needs deprivation, persistent Lying, and internalized Ideology reproduce structural harm and obstruct developmental pathways.
• Regime of Accumulation: The dominant global system that enforces disconnection and undermines human development through economic, ideological, and institutional violence.
• Seven Essential Needs: The needs that all individuals must fulfill if they are going to grow up healthy and reach their full developmental potential.

The article exemplifies applied LP diagnostics, translating abstract theory into an incisive critique of dominant mental health narratives and their complicity in elite-maintained systems of control.

Relevance to Avatar.Global

This article functions as an entry point for applied planetary diagnostics, showcasing how Disconnection manifests in crisis phenomena like suicide. It invites Avatar.Global researchers and practitioners to move beyond biomedical reductionism and toward a systemic, spiritual-structural understanding of youth despair. The piece also implicitly calls for Connection Practices and Healing-Centered Pedagogy as strategic responses.

Recommended for:

• Scholars of mental health, youth development, and trauma
• Connection Coaches and LP-aligned youth workers
• Pathfinder educators integrating systemic healing into curriculum