Shhhuicide: A Silent Conversation

by Kyle Pontillo

How loud is the dialogue about suicide between students and the world?

Culminating the World Suicide Prevention Month ‘2023, an exploration of locating where the status lies in discussions of suicide was made to help publicize and amplify the volume of what would seem to be a very private burden.

June 10, 2023, Inquirer.net reports Kabataan Party-list’s clamor to address the ‘prevailing mental health crisis’ in the country a day after a student from the University of Eastern Philippines (UEP) in Samar was found dead in their residence. The deceased has written in her suicide note apologies to her parents for not graduating on time. A former report by Philstar also stated an alarming 700,000 students under the Department of Education (DepEd), with 400 casualties in 2021. Such a tender population raking high statistics on the matter suggests problems with orientation and environments that disallow recovery of a fraction of youth in a dismal frame of mind.

“Our country cannot afford to keep turning a blind eye on the hundreds of young lives that have been taken by academic and economic pressures of today’s society,” Kabataan Party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel expresses on a call to action upon the news of the Samar student suicide. Pressing expectations in service of gratitude translates to guilt upon failure as emphasized in this incident. The limited job prospects, particularly for the poor, drive a rush to escape poverty. Hence, time is of utmost priority in their struggle to cross the margins.

Moreover, the spike in DepEd cases among minors stems from the lasting effects of the pandemic. Their heightened reliance on easily accessible entertainment on the internet, especially on social media platforms, as a way to cope with a solitary environment at that time, has led to a profound shift in self-perception. The advent of Pop Psychology where people adhere themselves to unverified diagnosis in an effort of mitigating what they feel veers users into a toxic consumption of misinformation, which then manifests into the light carry of psychological jargons into the most mundane of conversations. Lessening the weight of the discussion, this devaluing practice fosters an unserious treatment of the problem, adding more folds on the situation and hampering actual help and benefits to occur.

Consecutively, suicide is taboo in real-life exchanges. The roundtables often simply exist in the dimensions of people’s screens. Helping a person grappling with suicidal thoughts needs in-person intervention, yet eggshells are navigated to simply brave through this sensitive ordeal. Sir Micheal Alain Mamauag, the College of Arts and Social Sciences (CASS) Guidance Counselor stated most cases of suicide are of referral from Psychology professionals. These are students with histories in the matter and are up for monitoring by their respective College Guidance Counselors. Some cases are also not explicit in presenting their concerns to the office, especially walk-in clients.

Suicide is obviously not a comfortable subject matter. However, the silence in the conversation nurtures the indifference that widens the gap between the victims and their process of recovery. Some may wallow, some may ignore. Some resort to consumable bites of information and carelessly try to realize their gathered theories into reality. Worst case scenario is them facing their demise by worsening their condition from amateur efforts of self-help. It may be long overdue, but it remains significant to strengthen a culture of regard for these people in channeling their concerns with matters duly received and attended to. Institutions like MSU-IIT have enough space for you to lobby your qualms that are guaranteed to bear this burden with you. Let your voice be recognized and heard by people who can actually help you.

The Office of Guidance and Counseling (OGC) offers a long list of services that aid students in adjusting to their college lives. Orientations are conducted every after freshman enrollment to inform them of the help they can seek in the office as well as what awaits them in the coming years as they stay in the university. This aligns with their Annual College Life Symposiums (ACLS) program that helps former high schoolers transition smoothly to bear the weight of academic, organizational, and life stresses healthily. They are also very accessible and hands-on with their beneficiaries through MSU-IIT’s Online Psychosocial Response Team. Learning Assistance Volunteers (LAV) is also one of the many services offered by the OGC. It presents an array of students who serve as peer tutors to help other students cope with their academic obligations, especially in Mathematics, Physics, and more as emphasized by Sir Mamauag. The hands of the office are extended to students at every stage of their tertiary education, from yearly psychological assessments to assistance in helping them be ready for employment in their last year of school.

The rate of these cases may fluctuate from time to time, but the possibility of exponential growth from the lack of awareness and help is far too dangerous to ignore. Let us be part of the chorus that aims to halt these numbers from going up. Check your friends, families, and acquaintances and urge them to proceed with a consultation with professionals. The dialogue of suicide between students and the world is not a debate but rather a conversation of compromise. In this case, we should assert the welfare of the students by standing with them, fostering a society of comfort and care, and rooting their goals according to their potential. Together we can make a difference, a louder and safer change.