Suicide: the crisis that can be stopped

By Lauren Do Nascimento •

America has an epidemic: the level of young adults committing suicide is rising. Suicide now is one of the top causes of death for American youth. September is National Suicide Prevention Month.

Despite efforts to raise awareness about mental health and suicide prevention, suicide rates have failed to decline.

Oren Hernandez, Ph.D., a licensed counselor at Better Help, said that suicide is one of the leading causes of death in people ages 10 to 64, and the second leading cause of death in people ages 10 to 14 and 20 to 34.

“In 2021, there were over 48,000 people that died by suicide. That breaks down to one death every 11 minutes. About 3.5 million adults have made a [suicide] plan and about 17 million adults have attempted,” Hernandez said.

Many signs of a suicidal person are typically missed because people often interpret those struggling as attention-seekers, rather than people asking for help. Looking at someone’s history can reveal signs, he added.

They include a tendency to be impulsive or aggressive, substance abuse, current or previous history of adverse childhood experience, a sense of hopelessness, violence, victimization, being a victim of bullying or in a violent relationship, recently suffering a loss, or a history of suicide. There also may be a genetic component.

Suzelle Guinart, a licensed mental health counselor and director at Henderson Student Counseling Services at NSU, said that signs are common and suggests finding a source of support to work through them.

“It may be friends, family, other loved ones who you know are also experiencing that sense of loss,” Guinart said. “Sometimes it may be a professional, whether it’s a therapist or to someone who’s willing to be a listening ear.”

A major aspect of suicidal thoughts come from a sense of hopelessness. It may come from a person’s financial situation or a big loss, which isn’t limited to the loss of a loved one or material things, but also can be the loss of a friendship, job position, or anything else of value for the person.

Brielle Aguayo, junior communication major and art director/ reporter for The Current, first struggled with suicidal thoughts in middle school, and this continued until high school.

“I always struggled with self-doubt. My self-esteem was really low,” Aguayo said. “I always thought I was ugly and not enough when I was a kid.”

Bullying and striving for perfection were key factors that drove Aguayo to suicidal thoughts.

Aguayo shared that on top of feeling driven to be the perfect daughter, she was bullied because of her appearance. She has thick, dark brown hair and is half-Peruvian and half-Italian.

“People don’t realize they bully you until they do. One comment might be a joke, but it’s not funny. And it affects me like to this day,” Aguayo said. “I still think about my eyebrows being ugly because of what someone told me when I was little.”

Aguayo confirmed she never attempted suicide, but she shared a moment when her suicidal thoughts were at their highest.

“I was on a cruise with my family, and I was going through a fight with my boyfriend, and he just didn’t support me, and he put me through a really hard time,” she said. “I was looking over the balcony of the cruise ship, and I really thought about hurting myself, but then I just like was like, ‘no, you have so much to live for.'”

Stories like Aguayo’s are more common than some may realize.

Stefani Stanic, senior health science major at Florida Atlantic University, had a similar experience dealing with bullying and striving for perfection in her childhood. She said her father instilled in her that “a pretty face will only make you go so far.” Stanic often dealt with loneliness and anxiety.

“In middle school, I didn’t really have any friends. The only thing that I had was God,” Stanic said. “He was my ultimate friend, and I had my church, and my community. I would attend [church] every Sunday and Tuesday, and it would help calm the anxious thoughts.”

Stanic also had an experience when her suicidal thoughts almost put her life at risk.

“I remember there was one day I was driving to church, and I truly believe this was a demon that was talking to me, but he was saying, ‘Just crash into that traffic pole and it’ll be over. Your pain will be over. You don’t have to deal with this tomorrow.’ I wanted to so badly, but it was kind of like that internal war going on with me. I couldn’t go through with it,” Stanic said.

But unlike Aguayo, Stanic didn’t receive the external help she expected. Her school dismissed the fact that she was struggling.

“I went to a psychologist, and I did four sessions with her,” she said. “She ended up writing a letter of exemption to my school. She wrote, ‘This student is suffering from PTSD, please consider her exemption from this exam’ and the school completely ignored it.”

Church and faith were pillars of help for both Aguayo and Stanic to overcome their suicidal thoughts.

“A teacher told me this once when I was little: ‘You are put through things because God or whoever you believe knows you can handle them,'” Aguayo said.”I feel like I’ve lived by that so much because I always think, ‘why was I put through this, why me? No, you’re strong enough to be put through this, and you’re going to get through this.'”

They also both received professional counseling and now believe that suicide is preventable and that life is worth living.

“Compassion and encouragement can help mainly because I feel like it’s such a powerful weapon against suicide,” Stanic said. “You give people a different perspective on life. You see them in a way that they don’t see themselves and that can give them motivation to live another day.”

Guinart agrees.

“The thoughts are more common than we would imagine but know that you’re not alone going through that,” she said. “There’s a lot of individuals who truly care and who want to make a difference.”

Hernandez said suicide is a preventable public health crisis.

“I think that it’s something that must be prevented. It contributes to premature death and long-term disability,” Hernandez said. “Not everyone [who attempts suicide] is successful, so there are many individuals who are disabled because whatever method they chose was not successful.”

Aguayo now has a fuller perspective on life.

“I want to live every single day like it’s my last,” she said. “When I was little, I would be scared to do anything. But now I think I’m going to go get that job, I’m going to go dance in the rain and do things that are just a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You just take them.”

NSU will be hosting a walk in support of mental health next month.

“We’ll be marching on Oct. 7 to raise awareness on mental health and its importance,” Guinart said.

NSU students are eligible for 10 free counseling sessions every year at Henderson Student Counseling Services, and NSU provides a Student Care Team.

For more information: The national suicide prevention lifeline is 1-800-273-TALK (8255). There is also a chat option through www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org. For CDC info, people can call 1-800-232-4636. The suicide and crisis lifeline number is 988, and for veterans, it’s 988, and then dialing 1. There is help and hope out there for those who need it. 211 Broward is a 24-hour hotline for those who live in the Broward county area. The National Alliance of Mental Health is also a resource that people search for information on suicide prevention. It is available through www.nami.org.

By Lauren Do Nascimento