According to many experts, suicide is likely the second leading cause of death among college students.

While it “is not possible for an institution to prevent every situation,” Anthony Jenkins, vice president for Student Affairs at University of Maryland Eastern Shore, said efforts to prevent students from harming themselves and others have increased dramatically on campuses across the country following the shootings at Virginia Tech in 2007 and Northern Illinois University in 2008.

A graduate of Virginia Tech who went on to serve on its crisis management team, Jenkins said he has helped create behavioral assessment teams at several of the institutions where he has worked.

“We have seen an influx across higher education nationally of more students entering with mental health issues, seeking more psychological support,” he said, “In the last 10 to 15 years, institutions have been put in the interesting situation of how to address issues of what is best for the individual versus the university. It can be a delicate balancing act, making sure that we’re able to sustain enough counselors and support staff to meet students’ needs and also balance that with funding issues.”

Full story at Delmarva Now

According to recent research, some people are becoming depressed after using Facebook. If you can’t understand this, maybe you don’t have Facebook. I have always found it depressing. Where else can you have 500 friends and still feel like nobody really knows who you are.

And where else but Facebook can you go to see constant updates on what everyone is doing all the time. Status update: i’m taking out the trash. Status update: going to grandma’s house. Status update: Stacy’s coming over for soup…so excited! Seems depressing to me.

Utah Valley University conducted research last year which indicated that people are becoming depressed after viewing Facebook, and not because they find stays updates monotonous like I do. A sample of 425 undergraduate students was surveyed and for those who spent the most amount of time on Facebook, depression was more likely. Why?

Full story at Web Pro News

Ryan Holiday was so busy working three jobs that he barely had time to sleep. But when he finally found the time, he couldn’t sleep.

“At first the insomnia was a bonus because I could work more,” Holiday, 24, said. “I was working 18 hour days.”

Then, the panic attacks began.

“It was probably a combination of the stress from work and the insomnia,” he said. “One night I had three concurrent attacks. I couldn’t leave my bed. It was 4 a.m. I was wide awake.”

His doctor prescribed Zoloft and Xanax for his anxiety, and still unable to sleep, he started taking Ambien.

“It’s one of those things where you can’t tell if it’s working,” he said. “I do sleep, but I don’t feel rested. It’s kind of a strange kind of existence.”

Insomnia is the most common sleep disorder, according to an article published Thursday in the journal Lancet. But it often goes unrecognized and untreated. Doctors say it’s an alarming trend because of increasing evidence that untreated insomnia causes other health problems and can lead people to rely on sleep aids that don’t work.

ABC News

Cosmetic surgery can offer gravity-defying breasts and erase a multitude of lifestyle sins – but can it cure a mental illness? Louisa Wilkins discovers that there are some things surgery simply cannot fix

When life hurts, instinctively we reach out to find things to fix it, to make the pain go away. Passed up for promotion? Cue, a sparkly pair of Kurt Geigers. Dumped by your boyfriend? Time for a snazzy new hair-do. We are programmed by our beauty-biased society to think, ‘If I look better, I will feel better’. Or, ‘If I look great, I’ll be able to cope with this.’ Now, with Botox and do-it-in-your-lunchtime cosmetic surgery procedures becoming more commonplace, increasingly women – and men – are reaching out to their friendly local plastic surgeon for an aesthetic boost.

Unfortunately, though, this is all it is. Feeling happy with your appearance can undoubtedly boost your confidence, but when it comes to emotional traumas and deep-rooted insecurities, no number of shoes, hair styles or cosmetic surgeries will help the healing process. And, while the price of discovering that those new heels or that new hair-do didn’t make you feel any better after all is minimal, with cosmetic surgery you risk chronic pain, permanent disfigurement, exorbitant bills, emotional and social upheaval, and sometimes even death.

Full story at Gulf News

’Tis the season to be jolly, but for those suffering from depression, the holidays can be a particularly difficult time.

Especially for those whose economic situation is poor due to the bad economy.

That’s why experts from Gottlieb Memorial Hospital in Maywood, part of the Loyola University Health System, are bracing for an increase in patients needing treatment for self-destructive behavior — up to and including suicide attempts.

“For those who have no support system, no friends, family, loved ones or even co-workers, the holidays can prove very deadly,” Dr. Mark DeSilva, medical director of the emergency department at the hospital, said in a written statement. “Everywhere, there are signs of gatherings, gift exchanges, happiness and love. If you are not experiencing what the rest of the world is enjoying, it is very bitter.”

Full story at Chicago Sun Times