The UT Counseling and Mental Health Center is stepping up efforts to prevent suicide by demystifying mental health issues during UT’s first Suicide Prevention Week.
The goal of the program, which continues through Friday, is to provide a safe forum for students to discuss mental health issues and to teach faculty, staff and students how to have a healthy dialogue about suicide, the second leading cause of death among college students, according to center statistics.
Tuesday’s “What Happy Faces are Hiding” features nationally recognized mental health speaker Ross Szabo. For students with financial worries, “Bevonomics: The College Student’s Guide to Investments” will take place Wednesday.
Signs displayed in Gregory Gym’s main concourse will illustrate the warning signs students should notice if a friend is depressed or suicidal.
UT Suicide Prevention Week is scheduled to coincide with National Suicide Prevention Week, established by the American Association of Suicidology.
Fifty-eight percent of UT undergraduate students and 49 percent of UT graduate students have reported having suicidal thoughts at some point in their life, according to a survey by the National Research Consortium of Counseling Centers in Higher Education. The study found that 15 percent of undergraduates and 14 percent of graduate students at UT have seriously considered attempting suicide.
The most common reasons students come to seek counseling are depression, anxiety and relationship problems, said Laura Ebady, outreach coordinator at the Counseling and Mental Health Center.
“We see students feeling a lot of pressure, both internally and externally, to be at the top of their game all of the time in everything, and of course that isn’t possible,” Ebady said.
The sheer size of UT may contribute to feelings of isolation in students, more than at smaller universities, she said.
“It can be tough for students to find their place,” Ebady said.
Fifteen student organizations and offices were involved in the planning and execution of Suicide Prevention Week, including Active Minds, the Texas chapter of the nonprofit To Write Love on Her Arms, and Student Government, which passed a resolution Sept. 8 in support of the prevention week.
“It’s such an amazing service to the University, and an issue that deserves attention,” said SG administrative director Katina Rajunov.
The resolution stressed the importance of educating the student body about the signs of suicide because students who are considering suicide most commonly tell their friends first.
All of this week’s events are free and open to the public. For more information on the event schedule, visit www.cmhc.utexas.edu/bethatone/, or contact the Counseling and Mental Health Center at (512) 471-3515.
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