Video to raise awareness, educate on suicide issues

When news broke that IU had lost one of its own in an apparent suicide in late September, IU Student Association members said they knew they could not stay silent.

Through the production of a suicide awareness video, IUSA members said they hope to both educate and empower students who struggle with emotional issues, as well as their friends, IUSA Treasurer Kyle Straub said.

“When I heard about the suicide, I knew we had to get a message out to students,” Straub said. “It saddened me that someone didn’t get the help that he needed.”

The five-minute video, which will be filmed Saturday and released during the week before finals, will be split into two parts. The first will feature various campus leaders speaking on the topic of suicide awareness, warning signs and campus resources.
One recommended campus resource is Counseling and Psychological Services, which Straub asked to review the script for the video.

Nancy Stockton, director of CAPS, said the video is a wonderful idea that could be more effective than a typical print resource.

“Research tells us that students value the opinion of other students and referral of other students, almost more than the opinions of any other sources,” Stockton said. “The more we can educate students through the help of fellow students, the better.”
The second part of the video will focus on a student who has personally struggled with emotional difficulties and sought help: Straub.

“The purpose of me coming in the second part is to put a face and a story to depression,” Straub said. “You don’t know who is affected by depression. People who are depressed don’t have to be those stereotypical people. It can happen to anyone. But you don’t have to live with depression forever.”

Myths and a certain degree of stigma still surround the topic of suicide, Stockton said.
She said she hopes this video will speak directly to affected students and those around them.

“It’s powerful for a student to hear another student’s story, stepping forward and sharing his own difficulties,” Stockton said. “When he’s recognized as a student leader, it can take away some of that stigma.”

Though filming is set for this weekend, the video won’t premiere until the week before final exams.

“The reason that we’re doing it during finals week is because that is the first time freshmen have had finals and had to deal with that stress, and they are also reflecting on the past semester,” Straub said.

College, in particular, can place extra stress on the typical young adult, Straub said.
“Coming to college creates a lot of different challenges,” he said. “Some people are upset. Some people are angry. Some people are nervous. These feelings go away for most people, but for some, they don’t.”

The college environment combined with developmental factors also plays a factor, Stockton said.

“The video does a good job of delineating some of the stressors,” she said. “It’s an age period where people experience a first episode of a mood disorder. Impulsivity has been found to be implicated in suicide attempts. And what we’re learning about brain development, it’s a development stage when people are a little more
impulsive.

Alcohol and drug experimentation are probably a little higher in this age group, and they too are associated with suicide risk.”

While exact details on where the video will be viewable are still in development, the message is clear.

“It’s about making that commitment to yourself to get help and overcome the struggle,” Straub said. “Get help from someone. Just ask for help. There are so many people here on campus, and off, that are willing and ready to help.”