Most students are not familiar with being able to recognize if a person has suicidal thoughts, as told by the registered nurses, but Moorpark College Health Center Coordinator, Sharon Manakas and Dena Steven’s lecture on suicide prevention helped shed some light on this touchy subject.

Manakas said that people who feel the need to commit suicide are often very stubborn and believe they cannot be helped, but any attempt at giving help is better than not even trying.

“Suicide is sometimes called a permanent solution to a temporary problem, “said Manakas.  

At Multicultural Day, with a huge turn out at the suicide lecture, it appeared that many students who were interested in suicide prevention attended the lecture with Manakas and Stevens only to find out that every hour in the United States a person under the age of 25 commits suicide. In 2010, statistics showed that 105 suicides a day occurred in the US, with males having a higher suicidal rate.

Suicide is thesecond cause of death for the ages of 15-24 but is the most common for the ages between 45-54. At Moorpark College in 2010, 9.2% of students had contemplating thoughts about attempting suicide.

“If people in a crisis get the help they need, it can most likely prevent a suicide,” said Stevens.

Asking someone directly about suicide may seem too confrontational, but can lower anxiety, opens up communication, and decrease the risk of suicide.

For more information on suicide prevention, contact Manakas at the Health Center at 805-378-1413 or call the suicide hotline for immediate help at 1-800-suicide.