Suicide concerns rise in winter
With problems like being short on money, falling grades, seasonal affective disorder setting in and other personal challenges, this is the point in the semester when students who consider harming themselves or committing suicide come to Counseling and Psychological Services for help, according to Dave Bush, the center’s director.
Bush said the most important thing when dealing with a friend who is contemplating suicide is to give them hope and a sense of purpose. Rather than fighting that person on the issue, a better strategy is to let them know they are needed.
“I think every human being wants to be noticed,” Bush said.
The main waiting area of the counseling center is decorated with hopeful messages. A marquee on a stand faces the door with the message reading, “Today I will be as happy as a bird with a French fry.”
When a student comes to the counseling center for help, the first step is to forge a connection with them and build a community of support, Bush said. Then, they explore reasons to live. Usually this is done by encouraging the person to create what he calls a hope box. Bush’s own hope box is a small black chest that sits on his office window sill.
“The whole idea is if I have something concrete that I can hold onto or look at that reminds me of this is why I need to be on the planet, then those things will give me the strength to carry on when I am discouraged,” Bush said.
Bush said it does not have to be a box. Some people create a hope envelope or pouch, but the idea is the same. People put in all kinds of mementos that remind them of their meaning in life. In times past those items have been letters, photographs or small trinkets. Former LDS missionaries will put their name tags in the box as a reminder of a time when they felt needed, he said.
“It’s just a container of evidence that I matter,” Bush said.
Bush said occasionally, forging a connection with a student who is considering ending their life may be difficult. At that time, a counselor will encourage the student to go to a safe place, such as a hospital. Friends or a police escort can take them. However, hospitalization is the student’s choice unless they are in no condition to think rationally. If a student is under the influence of drugs or alcohol, for example, they will be taken to the hospital until they can think rationally, he said.
“Rather than fight someone, I think it’s healthy to forge that connection and explore necessary reasons for living,” Bush said.
Bush said in the 24 years he has worked at the university, a low number of students are hospitalized every semester.
“For an institution this size, to have so few students end up in the hospital as do is pretty unusual,” he said.
Though the number of wellness checks for a students who talked about ending their lives were more frequent in the last month, there don’t seem to be any more than usual, according to Cpt. Steve Milne of the USU Police.
Milne said when a call like that comes in, the first step for the police is to locate the student and ensure their welfare. Then they refer them to campus resources, such as CAPS. Fortunately, most of the students who have these checks called on them are in the early stages, and after a call to the counseling center’s 24 hour hotline, a follow-up appointment is made, Milne said.
“Sometimes they think, ‘I don’t have money to pay for a counselor,'” Milne said. “If you’re a student, the university wants to make sure you’re OK, and they have certain resources here that they’ll make available at no cost.”
Bush said students on campus are, by and large, invested in each other. A solid social support network exists and few students fall through the cracks, he said.
“Where I think sometimes students get in trouble is where they isolate,” Bush said.
Bush said the primary thrust of the Think, Care, Act initiative on campus is to make sure campus programs promote the concept of helping those who feel isolated and make students feel important.
The Think, Care, Act initiative is a two year-old program that is a conglomeration of resources offered through Student Services. Nicole Vouvalis, diversity specialist for Student Services and program director for Aggies Think, Care, Act, said it acts as a sort of clearinghouse for these programs to help people know where to go, whether it be CAPS, the Sexual Assault and Anti-Violence Information office, the Val R. Christensen Service Center, the Disability Resource Center or the Step Up program.
Vouvalis provides training to Connections students at the beginning of the school year about bystander intervention, which teaches others mainly about making good choices, being there for peers and trying to do the right thing.
“Aggies Think, Care, Act is a program that is really about social responsibility,” Vouvalis said.
Vouvalis introduced new professors this year to programs offered by Student Services. She said professors don’t always know how to help students in their classes who are struggling with various needs, whether academic, monetary or psychological.
“The biggest mechanism that I hope students pick up on is you don’t have to help yourself,” Vouvalis said. “You can always just find another resource that will help.”
There is a stigma often associated with seeking help from a counselor, Vouvalis said.
“A lot of students think that if a professor says, ‘Hey maybe you should talk to someone with counseling and psychological services,’ what you’re saying to
the student is, ‘There’s something wrong with you,'” Vouvalis said. “When really what they’re saying is, ‘You might just need a little support or some tools to be more successful in your academic life, and Counseling and Psychological Services can help you with that.'”
Though CAPS may be busier than ever at this point in the semester, Bush said they always have time available for crisis appointments. There are also opportunities for counseling at places on campus. The Family Life Center and the community in the Psychology department offer counseling, he said.
Vouvalis said she is working with CAPS to bring a traveling photography exhibit called Nothing to Hide will be up in the TSC Jan. 17-31. She said the exhibit shows photos of people who either have an mental illness or know someone who does and works to dispel misunderstandings people might have.
– la.stewart@aggiemail.usu.edu