College campuses continue to fight the increase in suicide rates with mental programs and social awareness

Warning: This story discusses topics related to suicide and self-harm

May is mental health awareness month. During this month, mental health specialists and programs attempt to reach and educate those with a mental illness. They cover topics ranging from anxiety and depression to even suicidal thoughts. 

Although there are no good connotations when referring to suicide, it’s not an avoidable subject – especially when addressing teenagers and young adults. 

According to the CDC, suicide is the second leading cause of death in the U.S. for individuals between the ages of 15 and 24. Studies show that the suicide rate increased by 30% between 2000 and 2018. After two consecutive years of decline in 2019 and 2020, the numbers increased from 45,979 in 2020 to 47,646 in 2021. 

Individuals between the ages of 15 and 24 may suffer from child abuse, bullying, sexual violence, depression, anxiety, or extreme stress. For some college students, those moments of stress could come from their academics or worries about their future.

“I always kind of want to try to be at my best. But then at times, I was putting myself down, because maybe this isn’t for me. Maybe because I can’t do it… So, it was just really stressful, at times,” said Juliana Pelaez.

Pelaez, a second-year journalism grad student at DePaul, has suffered from depression and PTSD for many years from years of bullying. She recently started taking antidepressants again to help stabilize her mood. 

“I’ve suffered basically, with a lot of things throughout my life. And especially during my undergrad and when I was in elementary and growing up,” said Pelaez. “I always had people putting me down, or not even considering me a human being…and especially at home. I get treated the same way at home. I get bullied and get pushed down.” 

Pelaez attended Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, for undergrad. She enrolled in DePaul’s journalism grad program last spring. Since her enrollment, Pelaez has involved herself in several organizations to advance her academic career, including being the president of DePaul’s Society of Professional Journalists.

However, none of those achievements gave her the reassurance she needed. Throughout her life, she has seen several specialists, social workers, psychiatrists and therapists. She had a counselor during her undergrad years and sees one at DePaul. But she still feels the university needs to catch up in some areas.

“I think there need to be areas of improvement. Because when I had to look around for counseling, I barely knew it existed here at DePaul,” said Pelaez.

DePaul’s University Counseling & Psychological Services (UCAPS) is available for all students. They offer counseling services, group counseling and outreach programs. When asked to comment on this story UCAPS stated in an email they were not available to participate.

 DePaul does offer other resources and programs dedicated to assisting and aiding students with their physical and mental health, like the Health Promotion and Wellness program. 

Picture of Mental Health First Aid program offered at DePaul, part of the Health and Wellness services. Provided by the Division of Student Affairs website.

Tyler Wurst, director of Health Promotion and Wellness at DePaul, and his team handle issues that often affect college-age students.  

“Our office, our professional staff covers topics such as alcohol and other drug misuse prevention,” said Wurst. “Using a harm reduction approach, we want students to sort of make informed choices about their use…We also focus on sexual and relationship violence prevention…And then we also do general mental health and wellness activities.”  

Wurst holds a license as a mental health counselor and everyone on the professional staff has a master’s degree in the field of counseling – making them more equipped to help DePaul students. 

“I think DePaul does a fair job. Part of my role here is to never really be satisfied. We are always going to look for better ways to get information into students’ hands. And I don’t think we ever reach perfection in that. It’s an ever-changing world,” said Wurst. “It’s an ever-changing group of students that come in every four years or so, so students age out, and we’re looking at all these students, so we have to make sure we’re continuously finding the best way to get that information to the students.”

These constant changes reflect in findings reported from the CDC in the last two years. Though the suicide rate decreased in 2020, in 2021 the largest percentage increase in the rate of suicide occurred among males ages 15-24 with an increase of 8%. 

The annual Healthy Minds Study surveyed over 520,000 undergraduate and graduate students since 2007. From 2007 to 2021, 21.3% of students reported intentionally injuring themselves within a year of the survey. In 2022, 28% of students reported intentionally injuring themselves within the past year. 

The American College Health Association (ACHA) and Healthy Minds Study provide students with a questionnaire that screens for suicide-related thoughts and behaviors. It covers topics about triggers or stressors that may be occurring in their academic and personal lives. 

“Hearing that there’s an increase in suicidal thoughts, makes me really want to get to the drawing board with my team and say, ‘What is some education that we can offer students around, making sure they know what resources are available, making sure those resources are valuable to them, but also making sure that they understand that Chicago has a whole community of resources around us, even if DePaul’s not able to meet their needs, we can help them get connected with community resources as well,’” Wurst said. 

  During this month, Wurst and his team do see an influx of students, mainly due to the closing of midterms and the preparation of summer plans. 

“So, we do get a lot of people just experiencing a lot of anxiety, people experiencing kind of feeling like there’s too much, and so we work with students individually at times and UCAPS as well to help them kind of compartmentalize some things, keep your lives organized, and breathe a little bit,” he said. 

The staff members at the Health and Wellness office are survivor support advocates. They can assist students who have experienced a sexually violent relationship, harassment, assault, or rape. The trained advisors or advocates can help work with students and link them to resources either on campus or off campus to get them the support they need.

 The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline – made available to everyone in the United States in 2022 – has agents working around the clock to help those who are contemplating suicide or suffering from other mental health crises.

Dial 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline

Available 24 hours

To learn more about counseling services at DePaul University, visit the Division of Student Affairs website. 

You can also call the Illinois Warm Line at 866-359-7953 for peer and family mental health support from Monday through Friday during the work day. 

For more information about Chicago mental health resources, you can visit the NAMI Chicago’s website, as well as the City of Chicago website. In addition, the National Center on Domestic Violence, Trauma & Mental Health provides links to Chicago-specific organizations and websites. 211 is another online resource that provides essential community services. 

Header Illustration by Bridget Killian