Suicide is the 11th-leading cause of death in the United States with over 48,000 deaths in 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month.
The UTRGV Counseling Center and the Center for Student Involvement will host a suicide awareness event from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Thursday on the Chapel Lawn on the Edinburg campus and at the same time Thursday in front of El Comedor on the Brownsville campus.
The goal of the event is “to spread messages of hope and provide the opportunity to learn about suicide prevention,” according to its flyer.
An estimated 12.3 million adults thought about suicide, 3.5 million made a plan and 1.7 million attempted suicide in 2021, according to cdc.gov.
Christopher Albert, director of the Counseling Center, said there is always new information about warning signs of suicide.
“There’s just a noticeable change in the way the person is, the way they talk,” Albert said. “Maybe they used to hang out a lot with people, [but] now they [have] withdrawn. Maybe the grades are falling in their classwork … or maybe it’s suddenly the opposite.”
Albert said a specific sign is what the person says.
“Such as …‘I’m wondering what it would be like if I’m not around anymore,’” he said. “You know, just little hints there, right? That maybe they’re thinking about it. … So certainly have those more obvious signs that it’s important to intervene.”
The Counseling Center offers Suicide Prevention Gatekeeper Training for the UTRGV community in groups of 10 to 30 people.
To request training, call 665-2574 or 882-3897 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday or email counseling@utrgv.edu.
Albert said the training takes about 1.5 to two hours in which warning signs are discussed and the three-step process–validate, appreciate and refer–in assisting individuals who appear to be struggling.
“The first step is getting the person to talk, right?” he said. “And, usually, it’s best to start off by asking the question, ‘Hey, I’ve been noticing that you’re struggling right now. I just want to ask you a question. Have you been thinking of suicide?’”
Albert said the direct approach is oftentimes the best option depending on your relationship with the person.
The second step is to encourage the person to talk more and validate their feelings.
“Because then you get more information, but you’re also building that relationship,” Albert said. “You want to have that trust relationship, because that’ll tie into that third step.”
The third step is to ask the individual to seek help.
“If the person is, in fact, suicidal or they’re struggling a lot, find a way to communicate with them to kind of convince them, ‘Hey, it’d be a good idea to connect with those services,’” Albert said.
Asked what a person should not do if they are worried someone is in danger of suicide, Albert replied not to ignore it.
“If they don’t feel comfortable themselves, approach that person and talk with them to make sure that they get someone who will,” he said. “Avoid judgmental statements, such as ‘I don’t want to hear about that’ or … ‘You shouldn’t think that way.’ … You don’t want to say anything that will get them to shut up.”
The center offers the Vaquero Crisis Line, 665-5555, a 24/7 confidential helpline for the UTRGV community.
The Counseling Center will conduct a Recovery Walk-A-Thon from 9 to 11 a.m. Sept. 26 on the Student Union lawn on the Brownsville campus and at the same time in the University Center Circle on the Edinburg campus. Attendees will be offered free snacks, water and T-shirts, while supplies last.
Valeria Valencia, a bilingual education senior, said it is a good idea to have events for suicide prevention to “bring attention to the issue.”
Asked about her thoughts on people making jokes about suicide, Valencia replied it is something people should not laugh about.
“Maybe some people don’t mean it like that, but you may be saying it in front of somebody who’s going through it in silence,” she said.
Evelyn Santillan, a mass communication junior, said she is aware of the services the Counseling Center offers.
“I feel like everyone goes through a lot of stuff, and they’re afraid to talk about it,” Santillan said when asked about the suicide awareness event. “I know some of my closest friends don’t like talking about stuff like that to anyone. … They like to go to events that help them speak about it.”
She said people are afraid to talk about suicide because they don’t want to see it as a problem.
Timelycare, a new 24/7 virtual mental health and well-being support, will be available for UTRGV students by the end of September.“
It includes a lot more and includes on-demand social support,” Albert said. “You don’t have to be in an emotional crisis to utilize it. And it could be through, like, video chat or text or phone [call] and mental health counseling, just like at a counseling center.”
