Leading suicide researcher Thomas Joiner presented his lecture “Why People Die By Suicide” at Mississippi State University Monday. The event is just one way MSU uses the Garrett Lee Smith Campus Suicide Prevention Grant, funded by the United States Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, to raise awareness about the issue.
According to MSU’s dean of students office, nine students have committed suicide in the last five years, which accounts for 20 percent of student deaths occurring in that time period.
Michael Nadorff, assistant professor of psychology and primary investigator on the grant, said an important aspect of the program is to bring a major speaker, like Joiner, to talk about suicide. Joiner is the author of “Why People Die By Suicide” and “Myths About Suicide.”
“He’s one of the preeminent scholars in the field, so I was very pleased when he agreed to come because he’s kind of a big deal in the field,” Nadorff said. 
Joiner’s theory, called the interpersonal-psychological theory of suicide, suggests most people who suffer from suicide ideation often do not die from suicide. Joiner said these individuals contemplate suicide because of two factors: perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness.
Joiner said perceived burdensomeness is the idea that one’s death is more valuable than his or her life.
“It’s a sad and tragic state of mind, but I think it’s one of the key states of mind in the moments and minutes and hours preceding death by suicide,” Joiner said.
 Joiner said those with thwarted belongingness find it difficult to connect with others. 
“The idea is that when you feel those two states of mind — perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness — simultaneously, then you’ll develop a desire for suicide. However, and here’s a key point of the work, that desire is not sufficient to culminate in suicide,” Joiner said.
Joiner said to die by suicide, one must not only have the desire of suicide, but the capability. Joiner said people who are capable of suicide, who have had prolonged exposure to pain and a fearless attitude toward their body, do not usually desire suicide. 
“When people get used to the idea of bodily harm, when they lose nature’s natural warning signs, danger signals, alarm bells about pain injury and death, that’s one important precursor to death by suicide,” Joiner said. 
Joiner said people who experience both characteristics at the same time are at risk of dying by suicide.
“When these two processes — desire and fearlessness — co-occur in the same individual, that’s when you see these catastrophes that are deaths by suicide,” he said.
Nadorff said 1,000 faculty, staff and students will learn how to identify those at risk of suicide through Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) training over the course of the three-year, $300,000 grant. He said he places importance on awareness of the warning signs and resources available to those at risk of suicide.
“The number of people here that are mental health professionals is rather small, and the person that may identify someone in crisis may not be the counselor. It may be the person that cleans the dorms and realizes, ‘This person has not moved from that corner in a long time,’” Nadorff said. “So you need to have people trained to be aware of these things — not just your mental health staff, but everyone.”
Nadorff said the training does not teach how to provide treatment to those contemplating suicide, but how to refer those people to the proper resources to get treatment.
Another aspect of the suicide prevention grant, according to Nadorff, includes connecting each department that provides mental health services at MSU to one another to make sure all mental health professionals are interacting.
Kim Kavalsky, coordinator of mental health outreach for health education and wellness at MSU, said counseling services have been involved in the suicide prevention measures of the grant. 
“(QPR) is recognizing what are the warning signs, what to look for. And then how do you ask that question? How do you raise a very uncomfortable subject for most people? And really just put it out there and express concern for that person you care about. And then getting them connected to the right people that can help them,” Kavalsky said.
Tabor Mullen, assistant dean of students, said prevention training is important because students are not typically equipped to handle situations involving a person who may be suicidal.
“If they can identify, ask the right questions, persuade them not to do that and then get them to the right people–if we’ve saved one life, then it’s made all the difference in the world,” Mullen said.
Kavalsky said counseling services sees students who deal with a variety of issues from problems with relationships and school to severe cases of depression and panic attacks.
“We provide individual therapy and group therapy. Both are free to full-time students, and they’re also confidential,” Kavalsky said. “That means that their family members, their professors and peers will not know that they’re coming there for services.”
Kavalsky said that counselors are trained to ask students who seek counseling if they have had suicidal thoughts. She said counselors assess students’ responses in order to better advise them.
“It’s very common for people to have had that thought. That’s not abnormal. It’s just not something we often talk about as a society,” Kavalsky said.
Kavalsky said signs someone may be depressed and at risk of suicide can include an increase or decrease in either appetite or sleep patterns, sadness, tearfulness and a lack of interest — but symptoms do vary.
“Sometimes it doesn’t always come across like that. When someone’s depressed they may be very angry and irritable, so you may not know immediately that this is depression,” she said.
Counseling services is located in Hathorn Hall, where an on-duty counselor is available for walk-ins Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“So, students who are in crisis that can’t wait till tomorrow or next week to see a counselor, who need to see a counselor as soon as possible, they can walk in and see that counselor,” Kavalsky said.
 Kavalsky said she recognizes the importance of immediate attention for those in need of help — even after hours.
“For most people, crises don’t always happen Monday through Friday eight to five,” Kavalsky said. “We can always be contacted through campus police.”
Nadorff said he hopes to increase awareness of suicide through the events and training sessions hosted during the grant, allowing people to become better informed on how to help.
“It’s something that happens among college students, and I don’t think a lot of students realize that or realize the magnitude of suicide,” Nadorff said.
Those experiencing thoughts of suicide are encouraged to seek immediate help through the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255). MSU’s campus police can be reached at 325-2121 and can connect students to counselors at all hours.