No, not the weird meat, and no, not the junk mail. SPAM stands for Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, and is held every September since its inception in 2008. Suicide is a painful and sensitive topic nobody likes to talk about, but it’s an ever more pervasive problem among teens and young adults.
When you’re starting a new phase of life away from your family, it can be difficult. Couple that with the stress of living with strangers, taking new classes, meeting new people, and managing a part-time job, and it can be overwhelming. A combination of difficulties in any of these factors can raise your risks of developing suicidal ideations.
School-Aged Suicides & Their Ripple Effects
Nationally, over 41000 people complete suicide attempts each year, and the 10-24 year old demographic is rising at alarming rates. But it’s a specific issue to address with college-aged people, because ages 18-24 are when most mental health disorders begin to present.
Though it’s important to remember that suicide can be a danger for anyone – you don’t have to be neurodivergent to be at risk. For instance, our LGBTQIA+ friends and family are 4x more likely to die by suicide than cis-het people, and trans people are 9x as likely.
Depression, self-harm, suicidal ideation, attempts and completions are rampant on campuses nationwide. Ohio University is lucky enough to have quality and readily-available mental health care for anything from dealing with finals stress to severe psychiatric conditions. Our campus really does make every effort they can to address this age-specific facet of mental health issues.
Why is this important? Because suicide doesn’t just affect the person who’s decided they’d rather not be here. Both attempts and completions affect all the people who love that person, their classmates, and all of campus, really. There’s something sobering about someone being in class with you one day and then never again, by their own choice.
How We Can Support Our Fellow Bobcats During SPAM & Beyond
There is no other way to describe this epidemic is a tragedy – in fact, suicide is now a leading cause of death among university-aged people. One of the most common reasons is those who feel they’re failing to create any meaningful connections, or feel that no one would really notice; they feel like they don’t matter.
This can then affect academic performance, which then just feeds into those bad feelings. And while we can’t tutor each other into university-wide 4.0s, any psychologist will tell you that when it comes to mental health, social relationships are one of the most important aspects of staving off symptoms of depression, self-harm and suicide.
So, how can we participate in Suicide Prevention Awareness Month and do our part to protect our fellow students, faculty and staff? As a higher-ed organization, OU needs to continue to develop, support and grow prevention policies and programs, and promote safe spaces. But as individuals, the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline asks us to #BeThe1To:
Ask
Research shows people who are having thoughts of suicide feel relief when someone asks after them in a caring way. Findings suggest acknowledging and talking about suicide may reduce rather than increase suicidal ideation.
Be There
Individuals are more likely to feel less depressed, less suicidal, less overwhelmed, and more hopeful by after speaking to someone who listens without judgment.
Keep Them Safe
A number of studies have indicated that when lethal means are made less available or less deadly, suicide rates by that method decline, and frequently suicide rates overall decline.
Help Them Stay Connected
Studies indicate that helping someone at risk create a network of resources and individuals for support and safety can help them take positive action and reduce feelings of hopelessness.
Follow Up
Studies have also shown that brief, low cost intervention and supportive, ongoing contact may be an important part of suicide prevention, especially for individuals after they have been discharged from hospitals or care services.
From 988lifeline.org
Now’s a great time to start, but these are values we should keep year-long as we do our part to stop this tragic epidemic and help each and every Bobcat live their best college (and after-college) life.
Learn more about suicide prevention and get additional resources at https://www.bethe1to.com/. Need help? 988 is the number for the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.