Foreword: Hi, so this is a mild trigger warning as I plan to discuss mental health, suicide, and depression
Whenever someone from “our” generation makes a passing comment about wanting to “off themselves” (or being ready for “the sweet release of death”) the response from their peers usually consists of: ‘same’, ‘me too’, ‘I can’t wait either’, etc. It is seldom and rare that our peers (Gen-Z and some younger Millenials) will verbalize a deep concern for an acquaintance or peer – unless an intimate connection is already established. (And, I hope that I am not being convoluted but I do have a point.) When words like “suicide”, “addiction” or “depression” are used the conversation seems to become “too real”.
I think that it is incredibly important to talk about mental health and have realistic depictions of it in the media. And, I believe this is a comment sentiment felt by a large majority of people my age. But, somehow there seems to be an uneasy feeling of apathy brewing in my generation. I find this especially to be the case in college. College is the only place where it is socially acceptable to be hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt by the time you are 30 without the guarantee of a job or stable life thereafter. To say that this academic institution -sometimes- causes people to crack under pressure would be a gross understatement. I guess that’s why we have so many mental health awareness posters on campus.
Towards the end of the last semester, I tried to book an appointment at CAPs (Counseling and Psychological Services). From what I have heard from my peers, the time that I had to wait to meet with a psychologist was nothing compared to what some of my peers had to endure. Laurel (Still using tree codenames) is a lively, Chinese foreign exchange student. She went through major culture shock and had an incredible number of anxieties about her major. She told me on several occasions that she felt lost with the newfound freedom and independence that she had. Due to an initial language barrier, it took me a while to figure out that she was describing dissociative tendencies and suicidal depression.
After a year of acclimating to American culture, she is doing fine and has started to get her mental illness under control. But, that first semester was difficult for her. It took Laurel a whole semester to see a psychologist. I only have the faintest idea of why it took so long to seek intervention. My best guess that it was due to a lack of resources, cultural miscommunications, and social stigmas. There is a fine line between sardonic humor and a plea for help- one which is only further blurred by linguistic subtext and draining nature of college. In a way, it was also my fault for missing some of the “signs”. After all, I became used to the nihilistic undertones of the average college student’s language patterns.
I don’t know if there is a big moral lesson to be learned here. Just try to watch out for each other, okay? It never hurts to ask how someone is doing, and genuinely mean it.
.
.
.
Movie: “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”
Music: “Hammer to Fall” by Queen
Quote: “Life would be tragic if it weren’t funny” – Stephen Hawking
Follow Us!