<p>Student</a> death confirmed a suicide | The Daily Pennsylvanian</p>
<p>I just can't stand this anymore. It's all so sad. Over and over and over it seems.</p>
<p>The way his mother describes his actions as spur-of-the-moment and impulsive is very frightening. He certainly was not a socially isolated young man, as co-captain of the football team. Very sad, very upsetting.</p>
<p>I remember that when I went to Harvard, at least one undergrad a year committed suicide. As a result, I suspected that what MOWC posted wasn’t something new, and I checked to find out stats on this subject. </p>
<p>Apparently, suicide among adolescent is decreasing. We may just notice college student suicides more now because those are occurring to people our own kids’ ages.</p>
<p>“Considerable attention has been given to past increases in suicide rates, especially among adolescents and the elderly. During the early 1990s, a number of articles and editorials called attention to increasing rates of suicide among adolescents and older adults.[13–16] The perception has persisted that suicide rates continue to increase overall, specifically among these 2 groups.[17] With a few exceptions,[18–22] there has been less recognition of recent declines in suicide rates among these age groups, and there has been little investigation of factors that may have contributed to these declines.”
<a href=“http://www.medscape.com:80/viewarticle/545555[/url]”>http://www.medscape.com:80/viewarticle/545555</a></p>
<p>I also suspect that untreated depression or other mental health issues are causing the suicides such as the one MOWC posted. I don’t think it’s just “pressure.”</p>
<p>Yes but. Depression doesn’t appear out of nowhere despite the belief by some (strictly laypeople afaict) that “chemical” depressions and “situational” depressions are two different disorders. In fact, IIUC, all depressions are triggered by stress to a greater or lesser degree - some of us are just more vulnerable to stress than others are. That said, there many other stressors in a young person’s life besides their academic environment. </p>
<p>I would assume, despite current skepticism about the value of SSRI’s, that the spread of them is at least one cause of a declining suicide rate - and also the spread of cognitive behavioral therapy for depression, anxiety, etc. Though it should still be said that treatment for depression is not always effective.</p>
<p>Heartbreaking. I am very sorry for thefamily and community.
Recently a friend expereinced a family suicide of an adult. A kind person, in “the know” reached out to the family and said that recently many of the obituaries you read in the paper are actually suicides that are not being reported as such… We are in scary times.</p>
<p>[Missing</a> W&M student found dead in Va. Beach | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com](<a href=“The Virginian-Pilot - Virginia News, Sports, Weather, Business & Things to Do”>The Virginian-Pilot - Virginia News, Sports, Weather, Business & Things to Do)</p>
<p>Here is another one - the second this semester for WM.</p>
<p>My son has lost a number of peers- way too many. Some have been suicides, some accidents (2 separate deaths from football-related injuries), some substance-related and one murder. Most were from high school, but there have been about 3 or 4 deaths of Penn students who he knew (ranging from good friends to acquaintances). I don’t know if he knew this boy or not.</p>
<p>so sad…my deepest sympathy to the family of this young man. It is such a devastating lose.</p>
<p>“Twelve percent of those with schizophrenia or manic depression die by suicide. More than twice that many attempt suicide. Suicide attempts occur mainly in the early stages of the illness or during the first weeks after discharge from a psychiatric hospital.”</p>
<p>you never know what was really going on…it’s so sad.</p>
<p>Just tragic. I’m so sad to hear about this. We hear more, these days, because of the news cycle and because a lot of this has come out of the closet recently, but even one tragic loss like this is one too many. So sad for the families and friends. </p>
<p>[Preventing</a> Suicide Among College Students](<a href=“http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/101326.php]Preventing”>http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/101326.php)</p>
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<p>I saw this story before they had a cause of death, and wondered if it was community-violence related. Guess not. How sad.</p>
<p>Very, very sad.
As an older person, I wish I could just reach into someone’s heart and tweak something to make this not happen.<br>
I understand suicide under the pain of disease or lost loved ones, having lived a life.
This is much harder to take.</p>
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<p>This is so sad. I think we need to teach our kids not only to try their best, but also that it’s okay to fail. You don’t need to be “angry with yourself” for being human.</p>
<p>*Brearsley said Thomas was not depressed, and this was simply a situation that spiraled out of control. “He was a very self-directed person, and usually his self-direction led him to excel in things, but that intensity and self-direction has a dark side,” she said. “He put huge expectations on himself and just impossibly couldn’t live up to them … and wouldn’t let other people give him an appropriate perspective.”</p>
<p>“We tried,” she continued. “His friends tried, Coach Shaffer tried. I don’t think it was occurring to anyone that we weren’t getting through."</p>
<p>She said Thomas likely acted impulsively, “out of anger with himself.”*</p>
<p>This sounds so ominous. What are we to think? That his grades were suffering? </p>
<p>My heart and prayers go out to his family.</p>
<p>It is so sad. One suicide is one too many, especially when it’s a promising young life that is lost. </p>
<p>At the same time, if we’re trying to understand causes and trends, IMO it’s important to keep perspective. We shouldn’t forget the fact that college actually seems to be a protective factor for this age group. College students commit suicide at half the rate of their non-college peers. I think maybe we notice college suicides because they happen in communities where young people are heavily concentrated, whereas non-college young people are spread throughout the population. Also, with college students, there’s the ever-present “pressure” explanation. But the fact is, the rate has held steady for decades, despite occasional clusters, or sensational cases like the Cornell deaths. Of course we must be concerned and colleges must be aggressive in their outreach and services. But contrary to some of the sensational press, there is not a suicide epidemic on college campuses.</p>
<p>(This is a general statement, and is not meant to deny the terrible pain of the person who commits suicide, or of the family left behind. For those individuals, trends and statistics are meaningless, and our hearts must and do go out to them.)</p>
<p>How can she say he wasn’t depressed? Maybe it’s more comforting to see it that way, but clearly something was very wrong. The idea that it was related to his various obligations also seems like little more than a guess.</p>
<p>^ That was my thought as well, but I guess they’ll think whatever they need to in order to cope. My younger sister attempted suicide last year, and the worst part of it was realizing how obvious the signs that this was coming were and we’d had no idea, we never saw them before even though they were right there plain as day. It was difficult not to feel guilty. My parents had clung to the idea that she wasn’t REALLY trying to kill herself, which was just obviously untrue. </p>
<p>But at this point whatever was going on in his head is really not important anymore. Hopefully the family can recover from this. My sister was not successful in her attempts and has resumed a relatively normal life, and we are still reeling.</p>
<p>While it still doesn’t justify whatever desperation he was feeling, the article noted that both his parents are pastors (I believe UCC). Pastor’s kids in general often feel the pressure of higher expectations regarding behavior and success. It’s as if they are living in a fishbowl with a whole church community watching over them.</p>
<p>When I was young, my best friend’s brother committed suicide. He was a high school senior, found out his girlfriend was pregnant, and felt no where to turn. A few months later, my brother’s best friend killed himself. Similar situation. Grown man, beautiful young wife recently pregnant and he felt overwhelmed. Never understood why. We can make assumptions but unless one has been in this position, still just stating opinions. Ian Smith-Christmas was a friend of my daughter’s a WM. So very tragic.</p>
<p>Just saw this article on my daughter’s school’s website. A traveling exhibit is coming to symbolize the 1,100 college suicides a year. Marquette has an organization named Active Minds that focuses on mental health awareness.</p>
<p>[1,100</a> backpacks at Marquette to raise awareness of suicide prevention | Marquette News Releases | Marquette University](<a href=“Marketing and Communication // University Relations // Marquette University”>Marketing and Communication // University Relations // Marquette University)</p>