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Former UA student Lindsey Sherrill has learned more about suicide recently than she ever cared to know.
In the two months since her husband’s death, Sherrill has struggled to cope without the one person she said she “misses unbelievably.”
“It was a shock to everybody, because that was not his demeanor,” she said. “That was not the type of person he was. Behind closed doors, depression was something we dealt with, but he didn’t want to be perceived as a depressed person or someone who had problems and didn’t know how to deal with it.”
Sherrill described depression as a selfish disease that leads people to commit suicide, leaving loved ones to pick up the pieces.
“One thing someone needs to consider before they make the decision to [commit suicide] is they are not the only ones suffering,” Sherrill said. “They’re not alone. I suffered right along with my husband, and I am still suffering. Depression convinced my husband that suicide was the only way to have peace. It robbed me of a future family with him.”
Lindsey said she tried her best to help her husband, another UA student, but eventually his depression worsened to the point where he needed a professional. He sought help from the University Student Health Center Psychiatry Clinic.
“As far as the University goes, there needs to be more counselors,” Sherrill said. “When my husband was really struggling, he had to wait a week to get in with the Student Health Center psychiatrist.”
She said he had a three-week follow up appointment, which got canceled because of the snow in February.
“When he called to reschedule his appointment, the front desk told him nothing was available until March 31,” Sherrill said. “Only after the psychiatrist heard about the serious side effects he was experiencing with his medication, did they get him in the next day. He kind of had to push it to get in anyway. Depression doesn’t wait for the doctor to squeeze you in.”
Cathy Andreen, director of UA Media Relations said the center’s Psychiatry Clinic has three psychiatrists on staff.
“Emergencies are seen as quickly as possible, usually same day,” Andreen said. “Students who are in distress should call the Counseling Center or the Student Health Center and request to be seen immediately.”
The Student Health Center was contacted Wednesday but did not return the call by deadline.
The Crimson White has learned of four suspected suicides since December, but UA officials caution against making judgments over how the University’s suicide rate compares to other universities.
“Averages can sometimes be deceptive due to standard deviations and margins of error that are not often reported,” said Mark Nelson, vice president of Student Affairs at the University. “These things build a clearer picture of where we stand with regard to national averages. Having said that, even one incident is too many and we are actively seeking new and better ways to help our students.”
CORNELL’S OPEN SUICIDE AWARENESS CAMPAIGN
At Cornell University, six students reportedly committed suicide in 2010, including four publicized incidents in which the student jumped from a bridge on campus into the gorges below, said Gregory Eells, associate director of counseling and psychological services at Cornell.
“In the last 10 years, we have taken a very public approach,” Eells said. “We have nine counselors on campus for students at all times and build programs to raise awareness.
“We took a comprehensive approach,” Eells said. “Fences were put on the bridges along the gorges right away. We hired one of the foremost suicide prevention experts in the country. There were many, many stories in the Cornell Daily Sun. We hired more counselors.”
Eells said the administration is very visible about the issue of suicide at Cornell.
“Vice President Susan Murphy created a heartfelt video right away, acknowledging the loss in our community, which she posted online,” Eells said. “It rapidly spread to Facebook and Twitter. The president wrote an op/ed column for our student newspaper, ‘The Way Forward.’
“Clinically, the more you acknowledge that you have a problem, the less at risk you are,” Eells said. “Eighty-five percent of people who commit suicide never sought help.”
Eells said there is no such thing as a “suicide school.” He said one per 10,000 students kill themselves every year, somewhere in the United States, and that these statistics are pretty consistent. He also said the myth that talking about suicide or asking someone if they feel suicidal will encourage suicide attempts is simply not true.
“The more open you are, the more attention you get on the problem,” he said. “A downside is the fear of hurting admissions and recruitment or gaining the reputation of a suicide school, maybe. However, we’ve found the open approach to be most helpful for students.”
There are currently 28 counselors and psychiatrists serving the student body of about 21,000 at Cornell, according to their counseling center website. Alabama, with a student population of 30,000 has the equivalent of 9.4 full-time counseling staff members with three support staff positions and five trainees, Andreen said. Auburn University has a staff with six psychologists plus the director on staff as full-time employees, serving 25,000 students, according to Auburn officials.
UA’s SUICIDE PREVENTION EFFORTS
The University of Alabama Counseling Center offers services for students suffering from issues such as depression.
“One of the most important services our counseling center provides is outreach to students,” Nelson said. “So often students are afraid to seek help. The outreach efforts of the counseling center provide specific, intentional programming to help alleviate some of the most pressing and emotional issues students face.”
Lee Keyes, executive director of the UA Counseling Center, said that generally, the warning signs a suicide attempt may be imminent include: history of previous attempts (the strongest),currently talking or thinking about suicide, abusing alcohol or drugs and, in college students, experiencing recent losses or relationship problems.
However, he said circumstances are unique in each case, and every student contemplating suicide may not exhibit each of these signs.
“Once a student opens up to receiving help, whether it’s here or any other mental health provider, there is usually a rapid and positive response to treatment, sometimes within days and weeks,” Keyes said. “Suicide is not an inevitable consequence of depression.”
Mary Sellers Shaw, a freshman majoring in English, said suicide prevention and awareness needs to be more visible.
“I think the University could definitely work on its suicide prevention efforts,” Shaw said. “I know they must exist somewhere, but I would have no idea where to find them if I needed to; I think most students are probably in the same boat I am. The University needs to make providing a safe and healthy environment for students its TOP priority and that will stem from checking in on students once they get here and increasing education about other services on campus.”
Keyes, however, said that while the Counseling Center is always interested in improving its outreach in this area for students, as in any area of mental health service, the University does offer suicide prevention programs for students.
“We do believe in suicide reduction prevention activities,” Keyes said. “We have a full week devoted to it every October. Last fall, we collaborated with the American Foundation for Suicide Information to provide information both electronically and in paper form across campus.”
However, considering her husband’s death, Lindsey Sherrill said she doesn’t think the issue of suicide is talked about nearly enough at the Unversity.
“The issue of suicide is taboo here; it’s out of sight, out of mind,” she said. “The University is a very prideful University whether anyone is willing to admit it or not. For students’ sake and individuals like my husband, for their sake, the University needs to swallow that pride. Let’s really make it about the students.”
Places to Seek Help:
UA Counseling Center
(205) 348-3863
Other counseling options available off campus:
Tuscaloosa Christian Counseling
519 Energy Center Blvd.
Energy Center Office Park, Ste. 1101
Northport, AL 35473
205-752-7557
1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255)- 24-hour National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
