The National Mental Health Association and the Jed Foundation released a report suggesting that college administrators take action to safeguard students against suicide.
Kim Bushore-Maki, coordinator of outreach programs at the Counseling Center, said that in the three years that she has been at ETSU, there have been no student suicide deaths.
However, there have been students that have thought about suicide and even attempted suicide. There is someone from the Counseling Center on-call 24 hours a day if the need arises. An RA or other university official might discover that someone has attempted to commit suicide.
In this case, Public Safety is usually called, and they alert the Counseling Center.
According to Bushore-Maki, it is a common occurrence for people to at least have thought of suicide at some point in their life.
“Most people have just that, a thought,” she said.
This is especially common if the person is depressed. Depression increases the risk for a person to commit suicide, but does not necessarily lead to suicide.
“Up to 15 percent of individuals with severe major depressive disorder die by suicide,” said the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition (DSM-IV), published by the American Psychiatric Associ-ation.
This number increases with age. There is a four-fold increase for persons over the age of 55.
Depression is unrelated to ethnicity, education, income or marital status. However, major depressive disorders are more common with women.
Depression can be caused by many different things. One could be because of chemical changes in the brain. Another is the fact that depression can run in families. It could be caused by painful events or even malnutrition. Sometimes the cause is not even known.
Bushore-Maki emphasizes that depression does not make a person sick, weak or bad. Medication and talk therapy can make a big difference in a person’s life, she said.
Bushore-Maki said some symptoms of depression include a change in appetite (either more or less), a sleep disturbance (insomnia, waking up periodically or wanting to sleep all the time), low energy, low self-esteem, poor concentration or difficulty making decisions, feelings of hopelessness, apathy (no motivation and not caring what happens), feelings of worthlessness and feelings of guilt.
There may also be a drop in grades. A person may not hang out with friends as much anymore. Sometimes there are even more thoughts of death. People often don’t even realize that they need help.
Bushore-Maki said the number one reason people come to the Counseling Center is depression.
Some things to look for as warning signs of a suicidal person are whether he or she may be preoccupied with death or dying and may use veiled comments such as “I wish I were dead” or “I wish I wasn’t here.” They may also start giving away meaningful possessions, such as a favorite sweater. Be aware if the person has a plan of action.
According to Bushore-Maki, first come the thoughts of suicide. Second, the person will actually think of plans of how to commit suicide. Lastly, the person may actually show the intention to commit suicide. If this happens, contact an RA, an RD, a professor, a Counseling Center advisor, or worst-case scenario, the police.
According to Bushore-Maki, it’s OK to ask someone if they are planning or thinking about suicide.
“You’re not giving them an idea,” she said.
The Counseling Center will be offering an online screening in which students can anonymously log on and answer a series of questions. They will be screened for different disorders such as depression, anxiety, alcoholism, eating disorders and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. They will be given information and feedback.
The web site for the mental health online screens is www.mentalhealthscreening.org/screening. Once the student has accessed the site, a password will be required.The password is “etsu”.
The ETSU Depression and Anxiety Screening Day will be Nov. 6. If students have questions or simply need someone to talk to, they can call the Counseling Center at 439-4841.

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