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Student suicides: Interrelated and Underlying Contributing Factors

Hashtag: #WorldSuicidePreventionDay

The Deadly Effects of Pain and Hopelessness

Pain according to a clinical study has been associated with the desire for hastened death but people experiencing severe depression and hopelessness are more likely to develop suicidal ideation.  Suicidal ideation according to the study performed by a Pain and Psychiatry Services group among cancer patients was not directly caused by intense pain but the degree of depression and mood disturbances. This is because although majority or 87% of the 185 cancer patients who had experienced significant pain and expressed their desire to end their lives, none of them intend to act.  Since patient’s perception of poor relief, a state often associated with aspects of hopelessness and subsequent desire for hastened death, pain is an indirect but powerful contributor to suicidal ideation.

Pain according to the literature affects a person’s quality of life, sense of control, and weakens the ability of family members to provide support; pain, not motives is the most cause of suicide thoughts and behavior on campus.  Along with risk factors such as difficulties in the relationship, substance abuse, impulsive and aggressive behavior, family history, and others, 1 in 10 college students seriously considers suicide due to significant depression. The most common and most painful is the death of a loved one and associated grief as such can trigger an assortment of negative reactions such as anxiety, remorse, rage, and other. However, assessment of the student’s suicidal intention suggests that in terms of determining how far a student will go (including death), knowledge and understanding of student’s perception regarding the pain are more important than his or her situation.

This is because, in a suicidal person experiencing extreme psychological pain or “psychache” a term coined by Edwin Shneidman in 2005, anything that is perceived as a viable solution to escape his or her emotional desperation and unbearable emotions can lead to escalation.

Warning Signs, Triggers, Risk and Protective Factors

Some of the warning signs that a person experiencing intense pain and extreme emotional desperation will take his own life  include withdrawal, giving away his or her prized possessions, talking about death, refusing help, verbal threats, and others. The conditions that will likely trigger pursuit of suicidal ideation, on the other hand, include embarrassment, bullying, sudden transitions or change of circumstances, substance abuse, conflict, bullying, and others. Risk factors are gender, race, cognitive or emotional, others.

Study of suicidal behavior in high school and college students suggests that predictors of suicidal ideation are similar to both genders and races. Males reported greater loneliness and substance abuse than females. Depression and suicidal ideation are common among females, but they fear death and injury more than males who, according to the study have greater fear of social disapproval.

Carrying a weapon at school is predictive of suicidal attempts among males of all ethnicities while perceived parent and family connectedness is a protective factor for black, Hispanic, and white boys and girls.  Finally, in terms of coping and help seeking attitude, boys often used maladaptive coping strategies such keeping the problem to themselves, hiding their feelings,  and using drugs and alcohol.

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J.K. Garcia: <strong>Name:</strong> J.K. Garcia <strong>Education:</strong> University of California San Diego (UCSD) <strong>Current occupation:</strong> Senior editor for PrivateWriting.com, academic writer, and education blogger with more than 170 published articles. <strong>Recent works:</strong> “Full List of the Most Trending Argumentative Essay Topics”, “Descriptive Essay: A Closer Look at Descriptive Essay Writing”, “Definition Essay: A Powerful Guide to Writing an Excellent Paper”, “12 Steps to Writing a Research Proposal”, “The Contribution of Academic Institution in Children’s Well-Being”, “Home Schooling is an Ideal Way to Obtain Quality Education”, “Download Sites Violate Copyright Rules”, “Bullets in Victim’s Head: Hate Crime or Parking Space”, “Scholarly Articles Broaden the Student’s Outlook”, “Commemorating Pi on 3/14/15”, “Honesty is Sometimes Not the Best Policy”, “What Education Do You Need to Become a Master Chef?” Hobbies: Scuba diving, sphynx cats, European football, fine arts. <strong>About me:</strong> I work full-time as a senior content editor for an education platform Private Writing. As a freelancer, I contribute to blogs and online magazines in the fields I’m interested in, which include sports, arts, education, and animals, to name a few. My writing skills are diverse and engaging, giving me an opportunity to write in different styles and genres. I have put on several roles as a writer, from a guest blogger to an editor in chief for an academic writing company. Today it feels like the role of a senior editor suits me the best giving me an opportunity to work and supervise many talented writers enabling them to grow as professionals. My biggest accomplishments as a writer are to always go through with my assignments until the end and giving out 110% of what I’ve got until the final result lives up to the expectations. This one time a colleague of mine, a novice writer with a huge potential in academic writing, approached me for a piece of advice on how to be a better author. This gave me a huge boost of inspiration to be a better mentor for my fellow writers and be a more accomplished author when it comes to my own writing. I’m a native English speaker, also well-versed in Spanish and French, which are both my second languages thanks to my father’s ancestors being half Mexican and French. I read a lot of books and blogs to keep my skills on point. I’m a strong believer in the theory that the English language is an ever-evolving organism that changes every minute. So to keep up with the changes it’s necessary to read a lot in order to be up to speed.