Suicide Loss Survivors to Gather Tomorrow

BU’s annual observation of the International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day tomorrow will include discussions by counseling professionals and survivors, brief musical performances, and a screening of The Journey, a short documentary. Photo courtesy of American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

In 2013, an acquaintance of Emmy Parks killed himself for unknown reasons. His death still weighs on her.

“I think it’s because I was pretty much at the peak of my depression when it happened my senior year of high school—I was afraid that I would hurt myself, and it stuck with me,” Parks (CAS’16) says. “But therapy has helped, and I want to tell others to be proactive about how you’re feeling; it doesn’t have to be like this.”

Parks will share her story at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s 16th Annual International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day at the George Sherman Union tomorrow, Saturday, November 22. The event is an opportunity for anyone affected by suicide loss to share stories of healing and hope, says Anne DiNoto, a collections specialist in the Office of the Comptroller, who helped to plan the observance with Dori Hutchinson (SAR’85,’96), a Sargent College associate professor and director of services at BU’s Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation.

The event will include talks by counseling professionals and loss survivors, brief musical performances, a screening of the short documentary The Journey, followed by group discussions about what it is like to survive a loss. It will gives survivors a safe place to connect, says Hutchinson, adding that she hopes the day will be a place for the BU community to heal and work together to prevent suicides in the community.

Suicide is the leading cause of death among college students, according to the Suicide Prevention Resource Center. There are many risk factors associated with suicide, the center notes, including behavioral health issues and disorders such as depression and substance abuse, feelings of extreme hopelessness or alienation, and adverse or stressful life circumstances.

In a nationwide survey last fall by the American College Health Association, more than 30 percent of students reported feeling “so depressed that it was difficult to function.” The Healthy Minds Study, an annual national online survey of college students by the University of Michigan, revealed that 20 percent of Boston University students screened positive for depression or anxiety in 2012, the last time the survey was conducted at BU. Of the more than 400 members of the BU community screened during this year’s National Depression Screening Day, 35 percent showed signs of depression or anxiety. In 2013, approximately 300 people were screened, and 39 percent were referred for help.

In 2009, Hutchinson, along with Margaret Ross, at the time director of Behavioral Medicine at Student Health Services and now medical director at BU’s Center for Anxiety & Related Disorders, won a three-year suicide prevention grant from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The grant allowed them to train more than 1,000 students and faculty in suicide-prevention strategies, reenergize the student mental health group Active Minds at BU, initiate National Depression Screening Day at BU and Suicide Loss Survivors Day, and build a culture of “tell someone, BU listens,” Hutchison says.

DiNoto hopes tomorrow’s event erases stigma around the issue of suicide and sends a message that suicide affects more people than most individuals realize. She herself lost two uncles to suicide, and says it took years for her to come to terms with their deaths. “There was no awareness like there is now,” she says. “It had a devastating impact on my family, and it took me so long to deal with my own issues around it.”

DiNoto and Hutchinson say that since the first observance of International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day at BU three years ago, it has increasingly become an opportunity to discuss an issue that many are reluctant to talk about.

“We can’t pretend it doesn’t happen,” Hutchinson says. “Remaining silent adds to the stigma and is an obstacle to healing and prevention. When someone we care about, or love, takes their life, we become survivors of suicide. It is a devastating, soul-crushing experience that often leaves us feeling angry, filled with grief, and overwhelmed.…This day at BU helps create a supportive and inclusive space to talk about our feelings, the stigma of suicide, and our strategies for healing and finding meaning in our experiences.”

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s 16th Annual International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day will be held Saturday, November 22, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the George Sherman Union Terrace and Ziskand Lounges. The event is free and open to the BU community.

Survivors of suicide loss looking for additional resources can turn to the Samaritans, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and Families for Depression Awareness as well as resources at BU: Active Minds at BU, Students of Actively Moving Forward at BU, the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation, the Faculty & Staff Assistance Office, Behavioral Medicine at Student Health Services, and the Center for Anxiety & Related Disorders.