Persuasive Essay On Student Suicide

I. Attention Material/Clincher: “Suicide is the second leading cause of death in college students” According to the non-profit organizations suicide.org (suicide.org 2017). Suicide has always been a mind- blowing problem nation wide. But if we look around and see our fellow classmates we think nothing of it until it happens. We ask ourselves why would the straight “A” student or the popular students want to kill or harm themselves.

Depression and suicide are becoming increasingly problematic for students currently in college. Spreading awareness and taking the stigma off of these issues is essential to helping those who are struggling come forward and seek help. By doing this, students can learn how to cope with their thoughts and feelings that are part of their illness in order to become stronger people as they enter the workforce. Constant financial and societal pressure to succeed can take a mental toll on college students, but by educating both teachers and students about the warning signs of depression and suicide, as well as how to help, it is possible to lower the frequency or risk of these illnesses in today’s college students.

The rate of suicide, the act or an instance of taking one's own life voluntarily and intentionally, increases each year. “More adolescents die each year from suicide than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, pneumonia, influenza, and chronic lung disease, combined” (Preventing Teen Suicide, 2016, p.2). These facts show suicide is a serious problem among teens. Last year, teen suicide became the second leading cause of death in the United States confirming the significant increase in teen suicides.

Polytech High School has experienced four deaths among students all within one month in the year of 2012. The most recent death was a 17-year-old male on February 15, 2012. This increase in suicides among this particular age group has generated many questions both from the community as well as researchers. According to WBOC, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has stepped in to get a better understanding of why there has been increase of suicides and why the increase in this particular age group. A common factor among all four fatal cases were that all four individuals suffered from depression, with strong implications that the depression may have went unaddressed and untreated (Crosby et al., 2013).

In 2004 Congress enacted the Campus Suicide Prevention initiative which provides funds through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Center for Mental Health Services, to college campuses nationwide (Smulson, 2016). The Campus Suicide Prevention initiative supports program activities, mental health screening services, and prevention strategies to form a foundation for mental health promotion, suicide prevention, and substance abuse prevention (Smulson, 2016). While research shows that mental and behavioral health supports can improve student life and functioning, the program falls short in some areas.

Suicide is the intentional act of killing oneself. Typically individuals who commit suicide act out of despair. Common suicide triggers are mental disorders such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and alcoholism and drug abuse. Personal issues such as financial problems or poor interpersonal relationships play a significant role in the cause of suicide (Gross, 2006).In the U.S suicide is the 6th cause of death. Suicide is also the leading cause of death among teenagers and young adults, more men commit suicide than women (Gelder et al, 2005).Leenar and Lester article mention important information about the general knowledge about suicide in college students. However relevant information is missing.

Yet researchers and mental health professionals cannot pinpoint why the rate has climbed, and they know little about what causes someone thinking about suicide to attempt it. As a result, suicide-screening tools are not very effective, and most school-based suicide-prevention programs may not reduce teen suicides. But researchers are hopeful that new studies, including large trials of three kinds of psychotherapy in adolescents, will help in understanding teen suicide and lead to better identification and treatment of high-risk teens. Meanwhile, many states are requiring instructors to be trained to recognize and respond to potentially suicidal students. Also, researchers have begun studying into physical brain characteristics that could be connected to teen suicide. It’s difficult to pinpoint why exactly suicide death rates have risen among teenagers. But Kelly Posner, a professor of medical psychology at Columbia University, says possibilities include a growth in social media and cyber bullying; a drop in antidepressant use after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2004 required antidepressant labels to carry a warning of possible suicide risk for children and adolescents; and the weak economy. There have been many reports on young teens that post online their last message, and

Addressing a critical issue which is suicide is happening in college students because they get depressed and overwhelmed with work, kids and homework. Suicide is not only happening to college students; it is happening to teens and adults. Underlying causes, explaining what causes teens, college students and adults to become depressed and suicidal. Accessing care includes how they can help college students not become overwhelmed and suicidal. Prevention, preventing suicide from college students. It says in the article how to prevent college students from committing suicide and how to get help. Even so, suicide remains the second leading cause of death for college students, as it has been since the 1950s (Iarovici).

At some point in one’s life they may believe that the only solution to their physical or mental problem is suicide. Although, we think that the majority of people who try to commit suicide just want attention. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the in the United States in 2013, bypassing homicide which came in at 16th place (Facts & Figures, 2014). The facts indications by the CDC estimate that someone will commit suicide in the United States every 13 minutes (Facts & Figures, 2014). Unlike most common disease’s suicide does not discriminate against age, or sex, or social class, it is estimated that males represent 79 percent of the people who do commit suicide in the United States (Facts & Figures, 2014).

Some may argue that talking about suicide in schools might put the idea into a students head and put them at more of a risk. For instance, “Talking to Students About Suicide” argues, “Students shouldn't have to talk about such a serious topic unless they personally need to, otherwise, it could be uselessly planting an idea in their head” (Gallagher). Even though people say talking suicide in schools would end up giving some students negative ideas, studies have shown that if schools talk about it in a safe way, students will gain awareness rather than negative encouragement. To start, “Schools Confront Teen Suicide” claims, “Schools teaching suicide prevention will allow students and teachers to learn how to identify warning signs within themselves

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) writes about mental health in our population. The most common mental illnesses in college-age students are depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and eating disorders (APA, 2011). Of the four, depression is by far the most common. Depression can often lead to other mental disorders such as the ones listed above. When depression becomes very severe, people often start having suicidal thoughts and ideations. “Suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people ages 15 to 24” (APA, 2011). A brochure from the APA goes on to explain the risks associated with depression and suicidal thoughts, “Over half of all kids with depression will eventually attempt to commit suicide at least once, and more

One of the questions sociologists have attempted to answer is. “ 'What drives people to commit suicide? ' Most teens who have been interviewed after a suicide attempt say that what causes teen suicide are feelings of hopelessness and helplessness. Suicide is when a person end his or her own life. Studies show that at least 90% of teens who kill themselves have some type of mental health problem, such as depression, anxiety, drug or alcohol abuse, or a behavior problem. They may also have problems at school or with friends or family, or a combination of all these things. Some teens may have been victims of sexual or physical abuse. Others may

Nineteen-year-old Cody Smith made the decision to take his own life just a week before Thanksgiving. He had recently completed his freshman year at Kennesaw State University where he was a member of the lacrosse team. His sophomore season was looking to be very bright. However, he got mixed into the wrong crowd and started doing drugs and heavily drinking. So, his parents thought it was best that he come home. While at home he experienced serve nagging from his parents and his symptoms worsened. This ultimately caused Cody to commit suicide. The pressure placed on him by not only the school but his parents got to his head. This is not the first time this has happened to a college student. Research shows freshman are in a “new environment where they may not know anyone and programs that foster social relationships and connections can assist students in not feeling lonely, depressed and can alleviate fears”(Echnos 4). Although suicide is an extreme negative to if students have an unsuccessful freshman year it is a negative that cannot be looked over as it has taken a toll on today's youth. The issue of suicide and depression is current in today's world and is even considered to be so prevalent due to the pressures society places on these adolescents.

“The suicide rate among young adults have tripled since the 1950s” (Barrios, 229). Specifically, on college campuses, there are more than 1000 suicides. This makes suicide is the third leading cause of death in college students (Cerel, 46). Studies that were performed at Oxford and Cambridge showed that the elevated rise of student suicide was due to the academic pressure. Later studies questioned if it was the school’s environment that contributed to a student’s choice in taking their own life or did schools simply attract students who were emotionally unstable. Many students come into college with disorders such as depression, eating disorders, and personality problems. This contributes to the rising number of student suicides. Since then, universities have been trying to help students with mental disorders and students who develop them while in college by offering mental health centers and counseling. Some universities have even taken the measure to give students with disorders an extended deadline and fewer courses a semester. Colleges and universities have provided a lot for students to be mentally and physically healthy on their campus, so this begs the question: How can the nature of college lead a student to commit suicide?

Suicide is the act of intentionally taking your own life. Unfortunately, contrary to popular beliefs suicide is a leading cause of death among college students in the United States. According to The Jed Foundation and the National Mental Health Association, it is estimated that there are more than 1,000 suicides on college campuses per year and depression affects 1 out of every 7 Americans. The Jed Foundation also states that more Americans suffer from depression than coronary heart disease, cancer, and HIV/AIDS. According to the Suicide and Suicidal Behavior: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, suicide and suicidal behaviors usually occur in people with bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, depression, drug or alcohol use, post-traumatic stress disorder(PTSD), schizophrenia, and stressful life situations such as serious financial or relationship problems. To help someone who is contemplating suicide or self-harm, one must first understand how suicide and depression coexist, the various symptoms/signs of depression and how to help the person without being insensitive to their situation.