Collegiate Times

You’re sitting in your room cuddled up with a fuzzy blanket and a box of tissues. You’re not feeling your best and thinking about making a cup of soup. At this point in time, would you go to the doctor’s? A few days later you notice that your fever is spiking and your body is aching. You no longer have any desire to eat and haven’t moved from bed. Would you seek a doctor now? A week and a half later, you have severe pains in your stomach and bags under your eyes, and you are too weak to move around. How about now? Seeking medical attention yet? Five days later your throat feels swollen and you have lost all the color in your face. You can’t think straight and can’t remember the last time you were up walking around. And now? Would you go to the doctor’s?

Here’s another situation for you. You notice that you feel blue and have negative thoughts sometimes. Two weeks later you notice your negative thoughts are filling up most of the day, and you don’t want to be around people. You feel like you are never rested even though you are getting plenty of sleep. Would you seek help? Three weeks later you start crying frequently for no apparent reason and no longer enjoy the activities you used to. You have no energy and feel really bad about yourself. You are getting 13 hours of sleep a night and are still falling asleep in class. You have no desire to eat food and have lost some weight. Would you go to the doctor then? Five days later you feel like you can no longer keep up with your life and do not have enough energy to make it though the day. You view your life as meaningless. You no longer care about what you look like and stay in the same clothes and don’t shower. You can’t be around people and feel negative all the time. How about now? Would you go seek help?

I’m assuming when you are feeling sick and are cuddling up in a blanket, you may seek a doctor. By the time you have severe stomach pains and are too weak to move around, most people would go get medical help.

However, at what point would you seek out help when you’re feeling down? When you don’t have enough energy to keep up with your life? Or when you are having suicidal thoughts and feel as though your life is meaningless? You would most certainly seek some medical treatment if you were feeling awful, but why wouldn’t you seek help when you are having suicidal thoughts?

That question may best be answered when you observe the stigma surrounding mental health. The lack of knowledge the general public has about suicide and depression may be the reason why some people find it hard to ask for help.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, in 2006 suicide was the 11th leading cause of death in the United States at about 33,300 deaths. For every one completed suicide, an estimated 12 to 24 suicide attempts occur.

Last Tuesday, Active Minds put on a display of 1,100 backpacks representing the number of suicides that occurred on campuses nationwide within the past year. College years are said to be the best years of your life, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t stressful. About half of all college students reported being depressed to the point where they can’t function in the past year. These feelings are common, real and treatable.

If you would like more information, you can check out www.activeminds.org.