College students struggle with alcohol, suicidal thoughts

Chancellor Holden Thorp said last week he wants the University to explore the stresses of being in college in the wake of a student’s death.

Since junior Courtland Smith told a 911 operator that he had been drinking and trying to kill himself Aug. 23, one particular focus has been on the issue of alcohol and suicide.

While Smith did not commit suicide, his death has drawn attention to possible links between alcohol use and thoughts of suicide.

UNC lost seven students to suicide between 2000 and 2004, according to a study by the Suicide Prevention Task Force, a group created in response to the rash of suicides at that time. At least three more have committed suicide since then, said Winston Crisp, assistant vice chancellor for student affairs.

“You’ve got a lot of people hurting out there that self-medicate with alcohol and drugs,” Crisp said.

He said that the number of suicides UNC has experienced is not above the national average.

Allen O’Barr, director of Counseling and Wellness Services, said in an e-mail that there is an indirect relationship between suicidal thoughts and alcohol abuse.

“I can tell you that alcohol is a central nervous system depressant, so depression is quite common in people who use excessive alcohol,” O’Barr said.

A report published last month on the number of violent deaths in North Carolina in 2006 found 62 percent of violent deaths were suicides, totalling more than 1,100.

Scott Proescholdbell, director of the N.C. Violent Death Reporting System, said that of the suicide deaths screened for alcohol in 2006, 30 percent of victims had alcohol in their system.

The study also found that young adults aged 20 to 24 had the highest rate of violent deaths, with men being 3.5 times as likely to commit suicide.

“There’s usually a cascade of events and sometimes a triggering one,” Proescholdbell explained. “It’s very different from male to female. Males end up using more violent methods.”

Counseling and Wellness Services provides therapy sessions and referrals for long-term help in the community.

CWS recommends prescribed medication, voluntary time away from school and lifestyle changes as possible solutions to anyone contemplating suicide.

Fulton Crews, director of the Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, said heavy use of alcohol can distort people’s personalities.

“One of the things that alcohol does that people often don’t talk about is it intensifies emotional feelings,” Crews said.

“Most people know that often, good, honest, sane people do bad, stupid, crazy things when they’re drinking too much.”



Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.