Is Your College Student Depression Proof?

Our society is under siege from advancing technology, and today’s students are possibly bearing a greater burden than we did at their age. Are we preparing the decision makers of our future with the durability they need to get through successfully, in today’s privacy-starved society? Tragic occurrences of student suicide across the country strikes me as more common than past generations, and while some may be a result of chemical imbalances, toxic diet, physical injury or tragic offenses, I have to be bold and argue that lives could be saved as a result of tougher love during impressionable upbringing years.

The strikingly tragic September 21st suicide of 18-year old Rutgers student, Tyler Clementi, is a blatant cry for respect for privacy in today’s morally deprived youth. With no regard for personal boundaries, Tyler’s dorm roommate recorded and made pubic a very intimate video of Tyler, to which Tyler responded with hopelessness and surrender. His suicide was a proclamation of despair, which calls for our prompt response in determining how Americans can change the path of desperation in our young adults.

In a community of increased technological connection through Facebook, LinkedIn, cell phones, text messages, Skype, and email, the missing link is that we are all – in fact – losing our connectedness. Humans are leaning on the crutch of digital relationships that we are neglecting true human bonds that breathe life into our souls. In my opinion, families are not teaching their children how to cope with difficulty and hopelessness. When the children of our parent’s generation would ask questions like “why am I here on Earth,” when facing life’s challenges, today’s youth draws the conclusion, “I have no reason to live.” What a different response!

Depression is a real problem, and it can be a serious battle. But to the degree that we can prevent our youth from sacrificing their life because of adversity, I charge parents with the initiative to make meaningful and deep relationships with your children, teach them how to engage in counsel and community during difficulty, and usher moral goodness into their character. That way, when life throws them a hard ball that hits them square in the nose, they are resilient enough to pick themselves up – with the help of others – and finish the game.

Listen in to my web radio show at www.blogtalkradio.com for more information on raising a resilient young adult.

Resources:

NY Times update “Parents of Student Who Committed Suicide Tell Rutgers University They May Sue” by Nate Schweber, December 22, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/23/nyregion/23rutgers.html