{"id":395132,"date":"2019-09-09T12:25:56","date_gmt":"2019-09-09T16:25:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=395132"},"modified":"2019-09-17T15:39:18","modified_gmt":"2019-09-17T19:39:18","slug":"field-hockey-teams-suicide-awareness-395132","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/field-hockey-teams-suicide-awareness-395132\/","title":{"rendered":"Field hockey team aims to raise suicide awareness"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you or someone you know needs help now, you can call the University Counseling Center 24\/7 at (585) 275-3113.<\/em><\/p>\n

Kate Kujawa \u201920 wears a wristband in memory of her younger brother. Honor Jack. Stop Suicide<\/em>, it reads.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s my Jack that I take with me,\u201d says Kujawa, a mechanical engineering major from Milwaukee and a standout goaltender on the University of Rochester field hockey team \u201cI wear it everywhere I go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jack took his life last October 27. He was 18 and had suffered from depression for years. His mother, Patty, made the bracelets and handed them out at his funeral.<\/p>\n

Tuesday, September 10 is World Suicide Prevention Day, and Kujawa and her teammates will wear special orange wristbands during their 6 p.m. game against SUNY Cortland at Fauver Stadium\u2014to remember all who have taken their lives and highlight the need to raise awareness about suicide. The Yellowjackets also will light candles after the game.<\/p>\n

The event organizer is midfielder Amanda Guido \u201920, a molecular genetics major from Queensbury, New York. Her father, Michael Guido, took his life on October 7, 2015 at age 47. A doctor and a \u00a0former football player at Johns Hopkins University, Michael Guido was an avid skier and golfer who loved coaching his son\u2019s youth baseball team. Like Jack Kujawa, he also suffered from depression.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really hard to watch someone you love suffer,\u201d says Amanda Guido. \u201cDad was so stubborn about getting help.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kujawa\u2019s mother will travel from Milwaukee for the game. Guido\u2019s mom, Rochelle, will drive in from Queensbury.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to destigmatize mental illness and promote mental health,\u201d Patty Kujawa says. \u201cMany mental illnesses reflect chemical imbalances. People like Jack don\u2019t choose to be this way, and we as a society need to be more understanding of that. This is not an illness people should be ashamed of, yet society often forces these people to hide in the shadows. It needs to change.\u201d<\/p>\n

She says another sign of depression is sleeping too much.<\/p>\n

\u201cJack would often say it’s like running a race, only he starts a half mile behind everyone else, but has to keep pace with the pack. That’s why he’d come home from school and sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yellowjackets coach Wendy Andreatta says silence is not an option if you sense a loved one is depressed.<\/p>\n

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September is National Suicide Prevention Month<\/h3>\n

Student organizations at the University of Rochester are hosting several events to raise awareness.<\/p>\n

Tuesday, September 10, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.:<\/strong> The Mental Health Task Force will be tabling in Wilson Commons to spread suicide prevention awareness, share national, local, and campus-based resources, and offer guidance in finding a therapist in the Rochester area.<\/p>\n

Monday, September 16, 7 p.m.:<\/strong> The Mental Health Task Force will join with Active Minds for the discussion, \u201cHow to talk about suicide,\u201d providing guidance based on current suicide research literature. It will be held in Wilson Commons 122.<\/p>\n

Thursday, September 19, 7:30 p.m.:<\/strong> The Mental Health Task Force will host a general interest meeting in Friel Lounge in the Susan B. Anthony Halls, to introduce its mission and plan future open forums with departmental representatives in order to facilitate trust and transparency between administrators and the student body.<\/p>\n

Sunday, September 22, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. \u2013<\/strong> The annual American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Out of the Darkness Walk<\/a> will take place at the Monroe Community College Brighton campus. Registration begins at 11 a.m., and the walk is from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Several students from the University of Rochester and the Mental Health Task Force already have registered.<\/p>\n

Monday, September 30:<\/strong> Active Minds will display its Garden of Hope exhibit in the Wilson Quadrangle. The exhibit consists of 1,100 pinwheels to represent the 1,100 college students who die by suicide each year. Throughout the day, Active Minds members will distribute flyers with on and off campus resources.\n<\/div>\n

\u201cOne thing I\u2019ve learned is, the old-school notion of not talking about it for fear it might encourage thoughts of self-harm is a complete myth,\u201d Andreatta says. \u201cThe more you can talk about it, the more you can bring it to the surface. People are not more likely to take their own life because you talk about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eric Caine agrees. A professor in the Department of Psychiatry<\/a> and a co-director at the Medical Center\u2019s Center for the Study and Prevention of Suicide<\/a>, Caine says being proactive is the best gift you can give someone feeling depressed.<\/p>\n

\u201cKeep people connected and don\u2019t be shy about intruding,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019d much rather intrude by saying \u2018How can I help you?\u2019 than look back and say \u2018I saw he or she was having some difficulty, but I didn\u2019t do anything. \u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

Around 1,100 college students nationally die each year by suicide, the second leading cause of death among that group, according to the American Association of Suicidology. The World Health Organization estimates that nearly 800,000 people die from suicide each year\u2014or one every 40 seconds.<\/p>\n

Caine says common red flags in the college setting include a classmate who starts attending class less often, drinks alcohol more than usual, has declining grades, becomes unexpectedly upset, or withdraws socially.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt that point, the idea isn\u2019t to say that someone is suicidal, but that something is off. They\u2019re not themselves,\u201d Caine says. \u201cYou want to help those persons, and fortunately, there is plenty of help at the University.\u201d<\/p>\n

Campus resources<\/strong><\/p>\n