Online Lifeline for Suicidal Undergrads

Web site offers guidance for academic stress, mental health

SATURDAY, Nov. 8, 2003 (HealthDayNews) -- Ron Gibori says fraternity brother Jed Satow was a happy, outgoing guy. Adventurous. Energetic. The kind of friend who'd insist on going climbing just to catch a fabulous sunset.

That all abruptly changed in Satow's sophomore year at the University of Arizona. "He stopped going out. He wasn't sleeping at night. He'd eat at two or three in the morning, and then skip class," Gibori says.

The members of Satow's fraternity didn't know that their friend had gone into deep depression. Before long, the 20-year-old had committed suicide.

"After Jed's death, I asked a counselor, 'How can someone who didn't show any signs of depression commit suicide?'" Gibori recalls. "His response was that he did have depression, we just weren't aware of what those signs were."

Gibori went on to help create Ulifeline, a Web site designed to prevent college students from committing suicide. The site is run by the non-profit Jed Foundation, which was founded by Satow's parents in 2000, two years after their son's death.

Currently available to 1.5 million students at 90 colleges and universities, Ulifeline provides a confidential, user-friendly place for students to learn more about mental health.

The site also features a screening program designed to help students uncover whether they, or a friend, are at risk for depression or suicide.

College students seem to respond to Ulifeline. After the University of Arizona sent out an e-mail letting students know about the site, more than 3,000 students a month went to the site, Gibori says, with more than 300,0000 Web pages of information reviewed.

"It's a good resource," says psychologist Ken Marsh, director of counseling and psychological services for the University of Arizona. "Occasionally, students will take the quiz and bring in the results with them. They'll say, 'I did this survey and that's what it's showed, and that's why I've come in for help.'"

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students, exceeded only by accidental death, according to the National Mental Health Association. About 1,100 suicides are projected to occur on campuses this academic year. Among college students, 7.5 of every 100,000 take their own life.

Gibori, now executive director of Ulifeline, says the problem is that most college students have no idea what the signs of depression are. "I would be taught how to put a condom on four or five times a day, but not once did someone tell me how to recognize the signs of depression," he says.

Marsh says the site's focus on college students makes it particularly helpful. Ulifeline is available to universities for free. Each university gets a customized site, including specific information about the school's mental heath programs.

"If you go to Google and type in depression, you'll get 4 billion references. There's so much out there," Marsh says. "Ulifeline focuses specifically on this stage of life, so you don't have to go through a whole lot of different places to get the information you need."

The reasons for suicide among college students are highly individual, but all spring from the pressure-cooker atmosphere that occurs from young people striving to prove themselves, Marsh says.

"Unlike popular perception where college is this carefree, wonderful time, in fact the expectations on many students are very high," he says. "Instead of that idyllic place, it becomes a very stressful environment."

Students often find themselves very much alone in dealing with that stress, Gibori says.

"You're leaving the comfort of your home with your family, and you're entering a life where you are surrounded by people your own age," he says. "A lot of the time it's hard for students to relate to other people, and you no longer have that safety net provided by your family."

Friends who want to help should keep an eye out for warning signs of depression and suicidal tendencies. These include social withdrawal, dramatic personality changes, heavy drug and alcohol use, or a recent relationship break-up or loss by death. You should keep a particularly close eye on friends with these symptoms who tend to be impulsive or have talked about suicide.

"It's kind of like whatever gives you pause to think, 'Wait a minute, this isn't the Charlie I knew before,' that's usually a warning sign," Marsh says.

The Jed Foundation Web site lists several risk factors for suicide. They include:

  • Mental illness. Ninety percent of adolescent suicide victims have at least one diagnosable, active psychiatric illness at the time of death. Only 15 percent of suicide victims were in treatment at the time of death.
  • Previous attempts. Between 26 percent and 33 percent of adolescent suicide victims have made a previous suicide attempt.
  • Stressors. Youth suicide often occurs after the victim has gotten into some sort of trouble or has experienced a recent disappointment, rejection or academic pressure.
  • Firearms in the home. Sixty-four percent of suicide victims aged 10 to 24 years old use a firearm to complete the act.

If you think a friend is at risk for suicide, Marsh recommends a "short, sweet and direct" intervention.

"Sit down with your friend and tell him you're concerned and you care," he says. "Tell him specifically what you're concerned about. A lot of the time people don't realize what's happening with them until a friend points it out."

More information

To learn more about suicide and young adults, visit the National Institute of Mental Health. For more on Ulifeline, click here.

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