When discussing the issue of suicide, the saying ‘You can be your own worst enemy,’ often comes to mind. Suicide is the ignored killer among the population. It seems like people are embarrassed to talk about it, therefore it lays dormant in the back of our minds. It is always there, but will we ever have the courage to bring it into the light? Every year 33,000 people die of suicide-related incidents. This is a staggering figure. It makes me wonder how many of the people I see every day are thinking of taking their own lives. In a way, I think the world has dehumanized people by categorizing them within the realm of their occupations or social statuses. At the end of the day, doctors, lawyers, sanitation workers, single moms and college students are all human. Could you imagine your pastor taking his own life? What about your father? The worst part is that no one wants to talk about it and until we speak up, nothing can be done. As college students in a rigorous, competitive, environment it is easy to fall into a funk. An individual can easily feel invisible or nonexistent among a mass of 30,000 plus students. We are taught to be strong and to hold our ground. We are expected to fight tooth and nail for the top spot on the corporate ladder without giving a second thought to anyone else or our own internal struggles. We can only take so much before we reach our tipping point. In the United States, a person dies of suicide every 16 minutes. Just because someone says they are ‘fine,’ does not always mean they are actually ‘fine.’ Mental illness and depression go hand in hand. It is estimated that 19 million Americans suffer from depression. Two thirds of the people who do commit suicide suffer from depression. This is serious because 15 percent of the population will at some point in their lives suffer from depression or a depressive episode. People who suffer from other mood disorders, such as bipolar disorder, also have links to suicide. The statistics say that about two million Americans are currently suffering from bipolar disorder and 3 to 20 percent of those people die from suicide. It is also important to distinguish between genders when analyzing suicide. Women attempt suicide three times as often as men. Why? Women reportedly have higher rates of mood disorders such as major depression, dysthymia and seasonal affective disorder. Even though women attempt suicide more often, men complete suicide four times as often as women. Many people like to think of themselves as creative. New studies have shown that creativity can also lead to suicide. It doesn’t matter if you reach fame or not. If you display a creative nature your chances of suffering from depression and attempting or committing suicide rise. Researchers have been looking at mental illness and suicide over the years and have obtained substantial evidence to support this hypothesis. Literary geniuses such as Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton and Ernest Hemmingway all died tragically of suicide. Visual artist Vincent Van Gogh’s life also ended with suicide. Theatrical actresses like Marilyn Monroe and Judy Garland supposedly committed suicide. To this day, it is unclear as to whether their overdoses were accidental or intentional. The man that brought the issue of suicide to the forefront was Kurt Cobain, front man of the rock band ‘Nirvana.’ All of these people were so talented, yet so troubled. Suicide has been plaguing the nation for years; it is time for us to step up and do something about it. If you or someone you know is suicidal, be willing to listen to them and seek help as soon as possible. The NCSU Counseling Center has wonderful information on suicide and a staff that is eager to help. There is a way out of the darkness. We just have to be strong enough to try to find the path. For more information on suicide and suicide prevention visit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s Web site at