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Being a freshman¹ in college is exciting: meeting new people, learning new things, and figuring out who you are. But these big changes can also trigger or worsen mental health disorders² like anxiety and depression.

If untreated, those disorders can be fatal. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students.

And all too often, parents have no idea that the student is struggling.

Stateside talked to Colleen Edmonds, a board member with the Michigan chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and MSU Psychiatrist³ Dr. Farha Abbasi, about what's driving these scary statistics, and what parents and colleges can do to support students struggling with mental health issues.

Edmonds lost her daughter Meghan to suicide in July of 2014 following Meghan's freshman year of college at the University of Michigan. Since then, Edmonds has become an advocate for suicide prevention.

Edmonds said she sees some things moving in the right direction. For instance, an increasing number of peer support groups across the country, like Active Minds, which has chapters on more than 400 campuses. But she said there is still room for improvement.

“I just think that the schools need to train their faculty⁴ better to look for signs when people are struggling,” she said.

When it comes to suicide and any health-related matter, university officials' hands can be tied by privacy laws. Edmonds says that there are some proactive steps parents can take to keep themselves in the loop, like having their children sign HIPPA agreements to allow access to their medical records. More importantly, she says parents need to discuss mental health with their children before they go off to college.

“I think you need to have the discussion with your child that mental health is as important as your physical health. And it’s ok to ask for help. It always was a stigma⁵, and we have to break that stigma,” she added.

Dr. Farha Abbasi, a psychiatrist at Michigan State University, agrees. She told Stateside it's important for parents to have open channels of communication with their children.

"As a parent, you are not their advisor⁶. You are not there to control them, but to be their ally, be their advocate, help them navigate⁷ this new stress," she explained.

Abbasi believes that students today face greater levels of stress and mental health issues than any other generation, and that's reflected in the statistics about suicide and mental health disorders among young people. "It's scary. It's a silent epidemic⁸, and I don't know what it will take to wake up to it," she said. When students leave for college, Abbasi said parents should keep an eye out for any sudden changes in behavior in their child, or any talk of hurting themselves or others. Parents can also monitor how well the student is functioning. Are they keeping up with school and maintaining social relationships? If not, Abbasi said those could be red flags that the student is struggling.

The Michigan chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention will hold meetings all around Michigan this coming Saturday, November 17, for National Survivors⁹ of Suicide Day. You can get information and locations by going to afsp.org.

1 freshman   

n.大学一年级学生(可兼指男女)

参考例句：

• Jack decided to live in during his freshman year at college.杰克决定大一时住校。
• He is a freshman in the show business.他在演艺界是一名新手。

2 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 psychiatrist   

n.精神病专家；精神病医师

参考例句：

• He went to a psychiatrist about his compulsive gambling.他去看精神科医生治疗不能自拔的赌瘾。
• The psychiatrist corrected him gently.精神病医师彬彬有礼地纠正他。

4 faculty   

n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员

参考例句：

• He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
• He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。

5 stigma   

n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头

参考例句：

• Being an unmarried mother used to carry a social stigma.做未婚母亲在社会上曾是不光彩的事。
• The stigma of losing weighed heavily on the team.失败的耻辱让整个队伍压力沉重。

6 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

7 navigate   

v.航行，飞行；导航，领航

参考例句：

• He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
• Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。

8 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

9 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者