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Why I Tried To Kill Myself at Penn

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Re: Why I Tried To Kill Myself at Penn

#11

Post by lutusp »

sliverstorm wrote: post #7
seancoleman wrote: post #3

I believe suicidal tendencies is simply when the weight of feelings from depression, anxiety, and psychosis outweigh results from coping mechanisms. I don't think it has as much to do with feelings of sadness or lack of happiness.

Is happiness not a coping mechanism for anxiety?

> Is happiness not a coping mechanism for anxiety?

That describes happiness as a method, rather than an effect or an outcome. But it's an effect, generally out of people's control except as a desirable outcome of things that really are methods, like jogging or crossword puzzles.

Happiness isn't a switch that you can throw, it's the light that results from throwing the switch.

Re: Why I Tried To Kill Myself at Penn

#12

Post by wavefunction »

a3voices wrote: post #2

> I tried to kill myself at Penn because I felt so utterly alone. If I was the only person on Earth, I wouldn't kill myself. Life isn't about feeling happy all the time.

How about spending your entire life never feeling happy and "knowing" that it will never change.

You simply don't understand the mind of the depressed, so what you would do or wouldn't do doesn't matter in this discussion.

Re: Why I Tried To Kill Myself at Penn

#13

Post by lutusp »

cryoshon wrote: post #5

Sounds like she had a lot of awful friends who outright refused to be there for her.

> Sounds like she had a lot of awful friends who outright refused to be there for her.

Don't be too hard on them -- it's likely they were also struggling and making difficult choices too.

Re: Why I Tried To Kill Myself at Penn

#16

Post by Volscio »

tptacek wrote: post #6

Penn’s response? – Sending some administrator to see me in the hospital (HUP). The first and only thing that she said was, “Are we going to make this an annual pattern?” because I had been hospitalized the year before. I said “No” and she gave me her business card. My kids are going to college in a couple of years. How do I avoid sending them to places like this? People expect (and should expect) to be treated better…

I went to and live near NYU and not much time passes between each attempted undergrad suicide. I experienced the same thing among soldiers (particularly those in basic training and AIT) who would harm themselves.

The general dismissive attitude of higher-ups and admins is that pill overdosing is attention-seeking behavior and that things like kids jumping off high locations is communicable behavior. So that's what suicide prevention folks are up against in terms of enlisting help from those on campus.

I would guess if this is a significant concern to you then you'll want to make sure the college has an active, directed, intentional position for a suicide prevention specialist or group whose sole responsibility is identifying, preventing, and treating potential suicide cases.

Because unfortunately admins and even RAs aren't always going to be the most attentive about this issue on their own.

Re: Why I Tried To Kill Myself at Penn

#17

Post by p_random »

I can totally relate to this, I've had major issues with anxiety and depression that required me to attend large number of therapy sessions + change several meds... The author described what I felt during my uni years and being a complete foreigner, every feeling for me was amplified. Losing attention from close relatives to having financial problems on top of loneliness made things a living hell to me.

To the author, I hope you feel better mate.

To the dicks who cannot comprehend mental illness, shut your cake holes.

Re: Why I Tried To Kill Myself at Penn

#18

Post by lmkg »

tptacek wrote: post #6

Penn’s response? – Sending some administrator to see me in the hospital (HUP). The first and only thing that she said was, “Are we going to make this an annual pattern?” because I had been hospitalized the year before. I said “No” and she gave me her business card. My kids are going to college in a couple of years. How do I avoid sending them to places like this? People expect (and should expect) to be treated better…

Send them to a small teaching-focused college. Institutions that are large, focused on graduate students, and/or focused on research have an incentive structure that puts a lower priority on the care of individual students.

I went to a tl;dr Go somewhere that you're a person and not a statistic.

Re: Why I Tried To Kill Myself at Penn

#19

Post by joesmo »

It's ridiculous that the author doesn't even consider that her taking prescribed Wellbutrin (and possibly other medicines) could have led to this. I'm quite sure such "anti-depressants" (what a misnomer) had a lot more to do with the suicide than anything Penn or any other institution or individual could possibly have. Of course, this is an extremely unpopular opinion, though based on medical cases and evidence, in our culture which sees drugs as the solution to all mental problems.

Re: Why I Tried To Kill Myself at Penn

#20

Post by mentalhealth »

a3voices wrote: post #2

> I tried to kill myself at Penn because I felt so utterly alone. If I was the only person on Earth, I wouldn't kill myself. Life isn't about feeling happy all the time.

Suicidal ideation is, in general, not a choice a person makes. It's the result of a combination of depression and lack of inhibition, due to anything ranging from psychosis to extreme anxiety or stress. If you were sufficiently depressed and stressed from being the last person on Earth, you'd most likely commit suicide.
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