Suicide is a silent killer.
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that in 2024, 2.2 million people attempted suicide in the U.S and 48,824 of them died.
Suicide is cited to be the second leading cause of death among college students in the U.S. by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. They also found that about 24,000 students attempt suicide each year, resulting in 1,100 deaths.
Those statistics only scratch the surface of the real issue.
September is Suicide Awareness Prevention Month. Sept. 10th was recognized as World Suicide Prevention Day. For years, this time has been observed by many countries and organizations as a time to acknowledge those who’ve been affected by suicide. Many use the occasion to draw attention to those who’ve died by suicide and the loved ones that’ve been left behind, and while their stories are worth talking about, they’re far from the only ones who are suffering.
Millions of people live with suicidal thoughts and actively plan suicide attempts outside of everyone else’s knowledge.
This Suicide Prevention Awareness Month is a reminder that they should be allowed to have more of your empathy. They need it more than you think.
One of the biggest obstacles that suicidal people face when they try to seek help is not being understood by those around them.
People who’ve never experienced these feelings may find the idea of being suicidal itself to be unfathomable. Those who have and still do will relate, but the prevailing stigma around suicide won’t let them speak about their struggles aloud.
If they do, then they run the risk of being subject to social scrutiny and the discomfort of their closest confidants.
They could be considered selfish for not giving enough consideration to those who will mourn them if they die. They may hear that suicide is weak and cowardly, or that it’s simply an easy way out that somehow shames those who’ve died.
These negative connotations only cast unnecessary judgement onto those who’re already struggling and make the problem worse.
A study that was conducted by the National Institutes of Health in 2025 found that the stigma around suicide more often than not prevented people who were struggling with suicidal ideation from reaching out for support.
But even if you’re well-intentioned, you can be unhelpful.
“It gets better.”
“There’s still so much to live for.”
“Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.”
These platitudes may come from a good place, but they alone can’t hope to benefit the people they’re meant to help, at least not nearly as much as they want to.
The reality of suicide and suicidal ideation is complicated but ultimately suicide itself, to those who think about going through with it, is an escape.
It becomes a serious consideration when the burden of living becomes too overwhelming to handle—when someone feels such profound hopelessness that they see no point in continuing.
American author and professor David Foster Wallace once likened a suicidal person to a woman who was trapped at the top of a burning high-rise.
He argued that suicidal feelings arise when a person’s unseen agony becomes unendurable—represented by the flames surrounding a woman—that would drive them to end their life. They still fear death but to them the pain of burning is still so much worse. They would rather take the fall instead, even with people on the outside telling them not to jump.
“You’d have to have been personally trapped by the flames to really understand a terror way beyond falling,” Wallace said in his book Infinite Jest.
He hung himself in September 2008.
Suicide never comes without reason.
Suicidal ideation is ultimately born when someone is in a truly dark place and they see no other way to escape it.
Whatever the case, they suffer in ways that no one else can perceive, and it sucks. It sucks so hard that they don’t want to live.
In that, they feel alone.
Even if they want the help, finding a way to receive it is easier said than done.
Most people aren’t mentally equipped to handle a person with so much baggage that they would rather die than go on living as they are. The concept is simply so intense—so difficult for anyone on the outside to comprehend—that they aren’t sure how to address it with the consideration and sensitivity that it needs.
Most people don’t want to think about it at all, and who could blame them? Just the thought is deeply uncomfortable, but that unwillingness leaves the feelings of those who are struggling subject to neglect.
If a person encounters someone with suicidal thoughts, they may be inclined to believe that they can make those thoughts go away by reciting platitudes about how precious life is or how suicide isn’t the answer. That would be the easy solution—not the long and difficult one that they actually need.
But they don’t need the people in their lives to solve all their issues. They don’t need their loved ones to make their negative thoughts go away forever. That would be asking too much of anyone.
Wanting to die may seem like an insurmountable despair, there are ways to save someone from it.
Suicide is preventable.
Suicidal ideation doesn’t manifest the same for everyone. There are plenty of signs that I haven’t even touched on, but know that they exist — and that they’re usually a cry for help.
And you have the power to answer it.
There are things that you can do to make sure that someone you know doesn’t end up taking their own life.
If they have a plan, you may be the reason why they still haven’t gone through with it.
All you have to do is show them that you care about them. Show them compassion. Let them know that they matter.
You can give them a safe space to be heard without judgement, you can be there for them, you can give them a reason to live whatever that they be. If you truly do care about them, just do what you can. If nothing else, it’ll give them one more reason to stay a little while longer.
Encourage them to seek help from professionals who are trained to help people who experience similar crises. Let them know that there’s a way.
This September should be one of understanding. It should be a time where the stigmas against suicidal people are challenged with deeper insight into their true experiences.
Suicidal ideation is a heavy burden. No one should have to deal with it alone.
There are many different services that are available for people who are struggling with these thoughts.
For a free, confidential and secure call with an expert, anyone who is needs counseling because of suicidal ideation can call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 or text the Crisis Text Line at 741741.
For LGBTQIA+ people in distress, The Trevor Project is available 24/7 at 866 488-7386.
For on-campus treatment, the Student Wellness Center is available 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Fridays. Students can schedule a telehealth appointment online or an in-person appointment by calling 626-914-8671. Enrolled students can book up to eight free sessions per term.
The Student Wellness Center will also be hosting an activity to raise awareness for suicide on September 23 and 29 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
You can participate by visiting the Campus Center and writing on the “HOPE” sign on display to share their support for those who have been affected by suicide and suicidal thoughts.
