成人头条

This WSU Newsline Podcast is available at . See the transcript below:

You鈥檙e listening to the podcast edition of the 成人头条 audio newsline. Learn more about WSU 鈥� the home of Thinkers, Doers, Movers and Shockers 鈥� on the Web at .

For students, college can be the best of times or the worst of times. Certainly, the range of emotions can vary greatly among students on campus, according to 成人头条 psychologist Maureen Dasey-Morales.

Dasey-Morales: 鈥淪tudents start college with a real range of emotions from apprehension to excitement to feeling high expectations for themselves and so can often feel a combination of pressure and drive.鈥�

Going to college is exciting for many, but for others it鈥檚 a time of hopelessness, and the result can be deadly. Every 100 minutes a teenager will commit suicide. And suicide is the second leading cause of death among people between the ages of 14 and 25 in the United States.

Dasey-Morales looks at some of the college students at risk for suicide.

Dasey-Morales: 鈥淩isk factors for college students with suicide can be not having enough supports or not being willing to access their supports, alcohol and drug use, recent impulsivity, previous attempts or plans, as well as recent losses or negative life experiences.鈥�

And Dasey-Morales says we should be aware of the warning signs as well.

Dasey-Morales: 鈥淲arning signs can be withdrawal from others and from activities, moodiness, making a plan to hurt oneself, increase in use of alcohol or drugs, expressing a wish to die or to go away, and impulsivity.鈥�

There are a number of myths surrounding suicide as Dasey-Morales explains.

Dasey-Morales: 鈥淥ne of the biggest myths about suicide is that asking somebody if they鈥檙e thinking about hurting themselves will increase the risk of it happening. And in fact, asking is one of the main things somebody can do to prevent suicide from happening.

鈥淎nother myth is that somebody who is thinking about hurting themselves is somehow weak or selfish. The reality is that most people who are thinking about hurting themselves feel like others would be better off without them or that somehow there isn鈥檛 a way out for them, and so part of helping them is to instill hope.鈥�

And she says there are some ways we can help to prevent a suicide.

Dasey-Morales: 鈥淭he number one thing that somebody can do to help prevent suicide is to talk openly about it and to not be afraid to ask about it. Also, to not promise to keep the information you get secret because it is being open about it that prevents it. To be realistic and know that the person may still have a tough road ahead of them, but that there鈥檚 hope and options for them.鈥�

And for that person who may be struggling with suicidal thoughts, Dasey-Morales offers this encouragement.

Dasey-Morales: 鈥淔or someone struggling with these thoughts and actions, the biggest thing is to know that there are options, even if you don鈥檛 see it. And that they don鈥檛 have to try and struggle with this on their own, that everybody who struggles with this needs help, and there鈥檚 no shame in getting that help. There鈥檚 no weakness in getting that help.鈥�

The number of youth who commit suicide is disturbing to many adults, yet statistics only partially convey the tragedy of teen and young-adult suicide. Each and every victim leaves behind a void in the hearts of his or her friends and his or her school and an ongoing ache in the hearts of families and loved ones.

Thanks for listening. Until next time, this is Joe Kleinsasser for 成人头条.