Four days after University student Carrie Ogden fatally shot herself outside a Tigerland bar, mental health professionals expressed their concern that students may be suffering from more than they are willing to admit.
Drayton Vincent, clinical director for the University’s Mental Health Services, said he has seen an increase of students at the clinic since hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
“I think we’re seeing more students because people don’t generally come in right after a crisis,” Vincent said. “As the semester progresses and academic pressures unfold, we’ll see more students who realize their ability to cope has been impaired.”
Vincent said those students who do go to counseling at the center are not coming primarily because of the hurricanes.
“They have been coming in for more normal problems for college students, and we find out they might be facing pressures from Katrina through questioning,” he said. “Many are wondering how to handle financial worries like their mom or dad not having a job anymore. They don’t have a safety cushion anymore.”
Vincent said it is hard to know the exact reason a person commits suicide.
“We don’t always know what people are going through or what they are dealing with,” he said. “The causes of suicide are very complex and multi-faceted.”
According to The Big Ten Student Suicide Study released in 1997, the rate of completed suicides was 7.5 college students for every 100,000. The study was conducted from 1980 to 1990.
Patty Rives, Baton Rouge Crisis Center director of community outreach, said suicide is the second leading cause of death for college-age people.
“Statistically, more than 75 percent of those who complete suicide are depressed and/or under the influence of alcohol or drugs,” Rives said.
Rives said some common warning signs for a person thinking about suicide are: talking about suicide, suffering a recent loss or crisis, a change in mood or behavior and feeling purposeless and lonely.
“One of the things we stress at the center is to always take people seriously when someone talks about killing themselves,” she said. “Any one of these symptoms could describe any one of us. When you combine those symptoms, a person becomes a higher risk for suicide.”
Rives said the best thing to do if a friend shows signs of depression or suicidal thoughts is to listen.
“Oftentimes, people respond with shock or become judgmental when they hear a person talk about suicide,” Rives said. “That only makes them withdraw more. You need to be willing to be direct with your concern and be willing to listen to them.”
Rives said she recommends bringing in outside support to help assist a friend who shows signs of depression.
She said the Crisis Center offers a support group for people who lose a loved one to suicide.
Buddy Knox, whose son Nelson completed suicide in 1994, co-facilitates the support group.
“It’s pure hell when you lose someone to suicide,” Knox said. “It’s impossible to put into words. You suffer a lot of guilt and wonder if there is anything you could have done to prevent it.”
Knox said he thought he was going crazy until he joined the support group and began to talk about what he was going through.
“I’d stand, staring into my refrigerator and forget why I even opened the door,” he said. “The support group helped me realize that my feelings were normal. And to see people who have gone through similar situations really gives you hope that you can make a complete recovery.”
Contact Jeff Jeffrey at [email protected]