Suicide Awareness from MWSU Campus Watch on Vimeo.
Stress and depression can lead to suicide, especially amongst college students. So last week the Counseling Center hosted a suicide awareness event in the quad.
“You know, I’ve struggled with it myself at some points in my life. Luckily not anymore,” graduate student Robby Dabbs said.
More than 1,100 college students commit suicide each year. It’s the third leading cause of death among people ages 15 to 24, so counselor Reagan Foster decided to do something to bring awareness to the subject.
“Suicide awareness is something that should be on the forefront of all campus programming because it is such an issue,” said Foster. “So it’s something that we should address every year, if not multiple times a year. If this particular program is impactful and people feel like it makes a difference, then we would definitely want to continue it.”
At the event in the quad last Tuesday, between 700 and 800 T-shirts were placed on the ground to represent the number of students that take their lives each year. Students who came by were given shirts that said “For My Mental Health I…” and were encouraged to decorate them with what helps them deal with stress.
The purpose of the event was to bring awareness to the problem of suicide and to let students who are feeling depressed know that they have other options and suicide is never the way to go.
“I think a lot of us hit a rough period of time and that’s kind of where our thoughts lead to. That it would be easier if we weren’t here. It would be easier on us or easier on the people that care about us and are around us,” said graduate student Kelly Peterson. “And I think when we hit our bottom, there’s always a way to come out. There’s always a next step moving forward.”
Counselors want students to know that just talking to someone can make all the difference in the world.
“If we even save only one life then it’s worth it,” said Dabbs.
If you are feeling depressed and are having suicidal thoughts, you can call the Counseling Center at 940-397-4618 or the Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800–273–8255.