On-Campus Suicide a Hidden Killer
 

On-Campus Suicide a Hidden Killer
Sensitivity to the warning signs can save undergrads' lives, experts say.

Sensitivity to the warning signs can save undergrads' lives, experts say
By E.J. Mundell
HealthDay Reporter_



THURSDAY, Oct. 27 (HealthDay News) -- Back in 1998, Ron Gibori was a fraternity brother to bright, popular Jed Satow, a 20-year-old University of Arizona sophomore whose suicide that year shocked his family and friends.

"I made a promise at his memorial service that I would try and do something to make sure other students like myself would never have to lose a friend," Gibori said.

Then, less than six months later, another of Gibori's fraternity brothers took his own life. "I realized then that the promise I had made at Jed's memorial service couldn't go unfulfilled," he said.


Joining forces with Jed's parents Phillip and Donna Satow, Gibori helped create The Jed Foundation, a New York City-based nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness of the problem of suicide on America's college campuses.

According to Gibori, approximately 1,100 U.S. college students take their own lives each year. Nobody's sure if that number is rising or falling -- according to Gibori, a steep increase in on-campus suicides has been charted over the past 40 years, but that could simply reflect a more honest reporting of an event that's been too long cloaked in shame.

"Suicide is still an unexplored social taboo in our society today," Gibori said. Breaking that taboo is the key goal of The Jed Foundation and its Web-based help service, www.Ulifeline.org.

Students in trouble who head to the site can get youth-friendly, anonymous mental health information, as well as links to on-campus mental health centers at more than 530 U.S. colleges. "Right now, over 5 million students have access to the program," Gibori said.

The need is real. According to Los Angeles psychologist Michael Peck, a specialist in youth suicide, college can be a dangerous time for troubled young people.

Many are emotionally immature, he said, and while their newfound independence from parents is liberating, it can be scary, too. Alcohol and drugs are readily available, and the pressure to achieve and fit in can be overwhelming, especially at prestige schools.

In fact, "a study I did years ago found that elite colleges have much higher suicide-event rates than small, local community colleges," Peck said. Much of that owes to the fact that students attending smaller, local colleges are also more likely to be living in the relative comfort and safety of the family home.

"Elite colleges also come with higher stress because there's much more pressure on succeeding," he said. "When students aren't succeeding, they feel like they're failing both themselves and their parents, who are often paying a lot of money for these schools."

And Peck pointed to another grim phenomenon: The fact that suicide can be "contagious" on campus. "Students are closely packed together, so a suicide attempt or death may trigger other suicidal behavior by other students," he said. "That's always a problem."

There are warning signs, he said:

* Apathy. "You'll see a drop-off in school participation, and a falling of grades and class attendance," Peck said.
* Distance. Friends and family may notice a change in closeness or communication. "This might not always be in terms of frequency," Peck noted. "The student may still call his parents every Sunday like he's supposed to; but instead of the usual conversation, it's just 'Hi Mom, Dad, everything's fine, talk to you later.'"
* Substance abuse. Friends, especially, should react to any abnormal increase in drinking or drug-taking behavior with concern, the psychologist said.
* Unexplained gifts. "This actually happens a lot," Peck said. "A student will come to you and say 'I know you're taking chemistry -- here are my books, I won't need them anymore.'" These types of acts are usually a cry for help, he said -- something friends need to be sensitive to.

"Friends are the key ingredient here," Peck said. "Usually, if the student is going to tell anybody that they are at risk, they'll tell a friend." And he believes those closest to at-risk students need to be "understanding, not dismissive," and urge them to head for mental-health counseling.

Parents can also play a key role. "They need to be open to that idea that there can always be problems," he said, and to ease up on the pressure if their child seems to be struggling at school.

If and when problems do surface, parents may need to take decisive action. "They even have to be willing, in extreme circumstances, to bring their child home," Peck said.

Colleges have done much to raise awareness of campus suicide in the past decade or two, Peck said. "Most have a hotline now, a mental-health service, specific rules about partying and hazing," he said.

And yet students like Jed Satow can still fall through the cracks.

"I think the thing people say most often is, 'This can never happen to me, or to my friend,'" Gibori said. "There's that perception out there that people who are depressed are all dressed in black, pierced and tattooed."

But even the most outwardly cheerful, wholesome students can be struggling with hidden demons.

"My two friends in the fraternity who took their lives were probably two of the most popular kids there -- the most liked and the most sociable," Gibori said. "So the key message is that if you don't want it to be you or your friend, get educated on the warning signs, and know that depression is treatable, because everyone is vulnerable."

More information

For much more on campus suicide risks and prevention, visit The Jed Foundation (www.jedfoundation.org ).

This topic hits close to home because we had a suicide at one of the chapters I used to advise.

I'm going to leave the thread here and also copy it to Risk Management in hopes that more people will see it.

I was suicidal in college.

My brothers saved me....every time.

Kent State had 3 suicides last semester and one so far this year. :(

one of those three suicides at kent state was one of closest friends.

thats a great article, but another thing to remember is that sometimes there are no warning signs or they arent very clear. time is precious, use it well.

We're glad they did.

I'm so sorry. :(

One of the very most popular girls at Auburn committed suicide back when I was there. Nobody I knew knew why.

She won everything on campus--War Eagle Girl, Homecoming Court, yearbook beauty, and was in one of the most popular sororities but one day she killed herself with carbon monoxide. I can't imagine how much pain she must've been in to do that.:(

What the article neglects to mention is that young adulthood is the typical age of onset for mental illnesses such as Major Depression, Bipolar Disorder and Schizophrenia. I'd be curious to ask the suicide rate of the same age group who are not in college.

My cousin's son killed himself last month while a grad student at Michigan State. He had gotten engaged the weekend before he did it, was living with his fiance, was getting good grades, was very active in Boy Scouts and Venturing and was an APO. He never touched alcohol or drugs. He was fine earlier that day when watching the MSU-UM football game with his brother, cousin and some of their friends, including his girlfriend. We'll never figure out the "why" and he showed none of the signs until minutes before he did it, when he called his fiance at work and asked if she could come home because he was lonely. That was the one and only indication that anything was going on. His brother and cousin now think that he was actually manic the weekend before and are wondering if he was experiencing his first bipolar episode. They thought he was just very excited about getting engaged at the time. But, we'll never know now :(

Dee

I wouldn't blame yourself for not recognizing a suicide. ITs extremely rare and the signs are almost identical to normal anxiety and depression. I had to do a couple of projects on suicide . . .

I've been severely depressed before and I've been suicidal before. When I was severly depressed, I wasn't suicidal at all. I just cried all the time and showed the above signs. When I was suicidal, I was only mildly depressed. What triggered my suicidal feelings were a lack of hope NOT depression. So no, I didn't show any warning signs at all. Please keep an eye on your friends and family, especially when everything is not going well in their lives.

Another thing I'm wondering about. When people DO show obvious signs of depression/disturbed/suicidal behavior, and others do not acknowledge it, what is going on? Do they just not care? Or, are they inept/afraid of approaching these people?

I was at party a while ago, and this girl (and a friend at that time) was crying for like six hours straight over a guy. They weren't even in a serious relationship. Only me and one other guy was concerned about her. We seriously thought that she could've harmed herself. I didn't know what to do, but to keep an eye on her.

Same thing with a girl who was in my sorority's pledge class. This girl was obviously unstable, but most of the girls passed her behavior off as PMS. :eek:

No one really approached me about my problems either. Not only was I depressed at times, other times I was super happy, like euphoric. It was obvious that something wasn't right, when I go from from happy-go-lucky to sad and then back to really happy, like within a day or two. I was having mood swings. Fortunately, this ended when I took myself off the anti-depressants.

But, I guess it will be awkward to tell someone "I think you're having issues, you need to see a psychiatrist!"

That's what happened to him? That's awful! My codelences. :(

AGDee I wouldn't blame yourself...

Like James said - you can't always spot the signs or triggers for depression (trust me I know), because the signs or triggers aren't always in the open or "logical". Sometimes you can understand the logic or series of events that led to a sucide, sometimes you can't. Sometimes there are warnings and other times there aren't - a break or snap and it's done.

how sad...

Sometimes it's just that, "It'll never happen to someone I know" mentality. Like, maybe they're depressed, but they'll never actually go through it.

As far as the PMS... I'm sorry, but I could see having that reaction to someone. When I have PMS, you say one thing wrong to me and I burst into tears.

This is not a cop out but people are not informed of the "obvious" signs. Like alcohol poisioning, this is something that happens on every campus but is rarely discussed in an open forum until something happens. Also the signs are different for every person because of their chemical makeup. People are not heartless. They don't feel comfortable making judgement calls because they are not qualified. They may not even be aware of the resources available to their particular campus.

Keep in mind there is still quite a stigma attached when it's suspected and confirmed that someone might have mental health problems.

Optimist Prime, I'm glad your brothers were there for you.

AGDee, I'm so sorry for your families loss.

I used to think "it's only PMS" until I had an episode off-cycle.

All I can say now is thank God(dess) one of my best friends was with me and intervened when she did. She encouraged me to get help, and I did. I was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder type II, which is now being treated with medication and therapy.

What wrigley said about the stigma of mental illness...many disorders have their onset in young adulthood, but aren't diagnosed until years later--or it's too late.

Let's work together to remove the stigma of mental illness so that we can prevent such tragedy from happening in the future.

You guys misinterpreted.. I didn't blame myself at all. His brother and cousin, and I'm sure his girlfriend were all questioning. I was the one who was telling people that there was no blame and probably no answer to the "why" question.

In Spring of 2004, there was a Beta Theta Pi pledge that lived in my dorm that jumped out of his 9th story window, falling to his death. It was very sad. Many of my best friends lived in the same hall as him, so I had talked to him many times.

This was younger than college but...in my junior year of high school a girl in my class killed herself. She was one of the most well-liked people in the class, always had a smile on her face every time I saw her, and was way involved with things. Yet one day she shot herself in a field not far from school...a student who was walking to school through that field found her the next morning. :eek: The news stunned everyone.

There is a very nice tree planted on the campus of the middle school our children attended in memory of a member of our middle daughter's class who committed suicide.

One of my sorority sisters, Dori, killed herself when I was at school. She had taken a full load of classes AND was president of the student chapter of the Amer Mktg Assn (which was huge at Penn State). She was a dear girl (if a little driven and perfectionist) and deeply loved by us all.

Over Christmas break, she went to a job fair, saw the hundreds of other applicants, and broke down, not returning to school in January. She started third trimester in the Spring, but didn't complete it. If you looked into her eyes, she no longer seemed "there"; many of use were worried about her, but knew her family was closeknit and was aware of the problems.

That semester, she went over to her sister's house, got in one of the cars, and let it run with the garage doors closed.

Her rabbi said something to keep in mind if someone close to you committs suicide, and you didn't pick up on the symptoms. He said that we can't know what's going on in someone else's mind -- that thinking that "I should have seen it coming" is like playing God. Not that you don't make yourself aware of the symptoms, or try to intervene if you see something that looks wrong. But if you don't see symptoms, or if you saw them, and weren't able to prevent the person from taking her own life, you attribute Godly Powers to your own little mortal self, and think "I should have know what was going on in their head."

That is SO true!! I think everyone should know the danger signs and know of at least 2 places to get assistance/resources...but some suicidal people are really GOOD at hiding it. If they have truely thought that suicide was their only option and they were comfortable with that decision, no one will ever know. We can only do so much....

My sympathies to all who have lost someone to suicide. I've lost 4 people that I knew to suicide...some were closer to me than others. All affected me profoundly.

PsychTau

A lot of time if you see the symptoms of suicide . . the person isn't actually suicidaly but rather seeking attention . ..

Its a wierd thing because what people think is suicidal behavior often is not.

How very true, unfortunately.

I started feeling "not myself" in late adolescence, and it wasn't until I was in my late 20s and some things in my life started feeling awry that I finally was diagnosed with depression.

What's horrible about depression (and probably other disorders) is you can *always* (usually) attribute some of its symptoms to something else...I never would've dreamed in a million years I was depressed! I just thought I felt the way I did because:

I was tired
I had a stressful job
My life was too fast-paced so I had no energy
I just "didn't like" going out as much as other people
I just needed a good night's sleep
I was irritated because other people were frustrating me
I wasn't happy with my romantic relationship
I hated where I lived
I felt temporarily "overwhelmed" and it would pass
Etc...etc...etc...you fill in the blank!!

Admittedly, those are all legitimate reasons to feel unhappy with life, but depression is sneaky and you think "Well if A, B, or C just happens, then I'll feel better." But whether or not those things happen, you still don't feel good. You have to treat the depression first, and then maybe you'll feel better about A, B, or C!

Sadly, I have found that those who seem to struggle the most are the MOST LIKELY to be in denial about it and the LEAST LIKELY to get or seek help - perhaps due to the stigma of mental health mentioned earlier, who knows? It's just frustrating to see that happen. I don't really care if others know it's something I've struggled with. In fact, if the appropriate opportunity presents itself, I'll mention it, and someone will usually pull me aside later and ask me questions or want to talk about it, so it's nice to try to be helpful that way.