Stress and Suicide free essay sample

The most important part of stress is how you deal with it or handle it. This is called a coping mechanism. It is crucial to deal the feeling of being stressed out or a stressor in an healthy way. Some people listen to music, go to the gym, sing, or dance. Anything would be better than resorting to drugs, alcohol, or bad habits. Doing that may lead to increased stress, anxiety, which could induce suicidal thoughts. (Nordqvist) Suicide and depression among college students is a widely discussed topic in the world today. Why is the number of depressed students in college and universities so high? What are the causes of depression and suicidal thoughts? In December of 2005 a powerpoint was created of all details from a study called, â€Å" The Big 10 University Student Suicide Study. † The study takes the suicide rates for young age groups, suicide attempt rates in the US in 2001, and population in US college and universities. We will write a custom essay sample on Stress and Suicide or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Most numbers are taken from the statistics and population of the Big Ten athletic conference schools, which are in the mid west. Based on what they knew by data that was gathered they estimated approximately 1,305 suicides among all college undergraduates per year. 1,004 of those suicides are student between the ages of 18-24. In the big ten, 74% of the suicides at the time of the survey were males, most suicides occurred at the age of 21 and as seniors and graduate student, and finally the suicides occurred on mostly on Wednesdays and in the month of October. I was extremely confused until she told me that suicide rates at Cornell University over the past year has increased dramatically. I found this very intriguing and decided to do some research on this for the paper. According to the article, Cornell University had no suicides between the years 2005 through 2008. The school has consistently fallen below the national average of suicide rates. According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the national average is 7. 29 suicides per every 100,000 students. Cornell University’s enrollment for 2009-2010 was 19,639 which means that the school should average fewer than two suicides per year. That was not the case between Fall 2009 and Spring 2010. Six students committed suicide by jumping off the main bridge at campus that leads to the gorge. It is an extremely long fall. Two of the bodies washed downstream and ended up at SUNY Cortland College, which is a few miles away from Cornell. Many of the counselors and the psychologists at the school are baffled over what has taken place over the past year and are trying to come up with possible answers. Many of the counselors have come up with an educated hypothesis. They feel as if students are taking their own lives because   of the constant pressure that they are under in school. As we all know, Cornell is one of the most prestigious schools when it comes to academics. Counselors feel that students feel their classes become too overbearing to deal with, and take their lives to relieve themselves from stress. Many students must maintain a certain G. P. A in order to retain their scholarship every semester. If they do not keep their grades up, they undergo constant pressure to do well. Cornell University is doing everything in their power to educate students about the current problem at the school. Police officers and guards now stand at both entrances of the bridge and monitor the students that cross it. The university also sent out campus-wide emails in regards to coping with depression and how one may receive help or counseling at Cornell. The emails encourage the students to use the resources at the campus for help. ( Cassie 1) Based on these facts, it is shocking to learn that six students most likely took their own lives because of the pressures of school. This just goes to show you that we never know what certain students are thinking. The pressures of school may prove to be too much for a student. In extreme cases, a student will take their life just because they may not be able to keep a scholarship. No grade or amount of stress is worth the life of a human being. I felt that this topic of discussion would be best for me to use for my paper being that I am experiencing so much of it now. Based on the Cornell article, students are taking their lives because of grade problems which the researchers noted to be the number one cause of depression in college students. I feel that Cornell University should conduct a survey similar to the one I discussed earlier because they may receive feedback that is essential in preventing more suicides. The University may be able to come up with new strategies on how to cope with depression and suicidal thoughts. Counselors and professionals should be available for all students to have access to when stress and anxiety gets to rough. I personally have trouble with stress and anxiety and having people to talk you and lead you into a positive direction and way of coping is absolutely helpful.