KXAN (Austin’s local NBC affiliate) just ran a story on their 5pm news titled “Suicide contemplation rates surprising”. It was based on research just released by the University of Texas which surveyed 26,000 college students at 70 colleges and universities. I hope to get a copy of the research and share more of it here, but here are the stats reported in the KXAN story:

• over half of the 26,000 students have considered suicide
• 18% of them have seriously considered suicide
• 8% of them have attempted suicide
• only 25% of completed suicides have previously sought out counseling, therefore 75% never sought professional help

If UT’s student population is 50,000, then the 8% figure means that over 4,000 students at UT have attempted suicide at some point in the past. According to KXAN, the study also says that 4% of graduate students and 6% of undergraduates have seriously considered suicide within the past year.

If you’re wanting to help us lower these rates and prevent suicide among college and high school students, please let me know so I can add you to our email lists.

Casey interviews Megan, an 18 year-old high school senior from Ohio, about the loss of her boyfriend who was also her best friend since seventh grade. As one method of coping with her loss, Megan turned to music and began playing guitar and drums and writing songs to express her feelings. Megan talks about their great times together at movies, swimming, and four-wheeling – and his diagnosis of bipolar disorder.

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Casey interviews Matt, a freshman college student from Georgia, who has had his own battles with suicidal thoughts and near attempts. Matt talks about his experiences through middle school, high school, and college – what led him to the edge of suicidal thoughts – and how he is overcoming them and the paper he is writing on the subject.

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Casey interviews Meghan, a senior physical education major in the midwest whose favorite sports are hockey and golf, about the loss of her cousin/roommate. Her cousin was an amazing person who stood up for people and loved everyone. She had recently broken up with her boyfriend, lost her job, and had a family history of depression and alcoholism. Meghan talks about coping through counseling, but also how reading and listening to others who have been through the same experience was the most help for her – which helped her realize that she wasn’t alone and wasn’t a freak for having all of the feelings she was experiencing.

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This article was written by Susan Celentano, MFT, and was used with permission from the Didi Hirsch Community Mental Health Center in Culver City, CA. The paper is excerpted from the Oct/Nov/Dec 2003 and the Jan/Feb/Mar 2004 issues of the Survivors After Suicide newsletter, a publication of Didi Hirsch Community Mental Health Center. If you have comments on these films or have additional films to recommend, please include them in comments on this post. We added photos and links to Amazon.com for each of the titles so you can buy or rent them if you like.

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Films can provide an opportunity for insight, empathy and emotional catharsis for those of us who have survived suicide. Realistic illustrations of grief have not been an uncommon theme in films, notably Ordinary People (1980), The Accidental Tourist (1988), and In the Bedroom (2001), but only recently have filmmakers shown not only a deeper understanding of the issue of suicide and an appreciation of its complexity, but a willingness to examine the plight of the survivor.

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Casey interviews Chrissy, a freshman journalism major in the midwest, about the loss of her dad that took away her "kid card" and inspired her to begin writing a book about her experience.

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Casey interviews Dr. Sarah, a clinical psychologist who primarily works with kids who have autism and adult musicians, about the loss of her best friend, Steve, a cheerful outgoing music fan and attorney who battled with depression. Together, they drove all over the region going to Ian Moore concerts – especially listening to his song, Today, when either of them were struggling with anything. Now, the song brings back the great memories the two of them had together.

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Casey interviews Kyle, a high school senior, about his best friend, Zane, a guitar player, and how he has been able to cope with his suicide. He also talks about how the song from Stephen Speaks, called The Leaving Song, has made a difference in how he thinks about his loss and the days ahead.

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Casey interviews Angela about her brother, Jimmy, an actor, comedian, and writer, and how she was able to cope after his suicide. She also talks about he always wanted to open his own coffee house in Austin, which she has now done in his honor. One song that helped Angela with this tough time was So Long Jimmy, by James Blunt.

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