This week on SPSM Chat let’s talk about how college life can make someone think about suicide with host Rudy Caseres and panelists Ryan Robertson and Anja Burčak. What better way to spend your spring break?

Watch as we discuss such topics as:

What are some reasons college students may feel suicidal from time to time?

Is it “healthy” to think about suicide?

What are some accommodations that can be implemented by college staff/faculty that can help people experiencing mental health issues succeed?

Anja Burcak is a blogger with a passion for mental health advocacy. Her essays and articles have been featured on her personal mental health blog thecalculatingmind.com and sites such as The Mighty, BP Magazine, and Yahoo. She has created various types of content to educate the public about stigma and mental illness, including personal essays, vlogs, and social media content. Being diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder during college has given her insight into the struggles many college students battling mental health conditions face. She graduated from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a BA in Biology and a BS in Psychology. Anja currently is involved in victim advocacy and suicide prevention research. She will begin a School Psychology graduate program this fall. Anja wishes to create more open, honest conversations about mental health, fighting stigma one conversation at a time.

Ryan A. Robertson, B.S., is a graduate student in Towson University’s Experimental Psychology Master’s program. He works in multiple labs at Towson to inform a bio-psycho-social approach to researching components related to non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), such as attachment difficulties, memory deficits, trauma, and stigma. Through his research endeavors, he aims to ameliorate the stigma (i.e., discrimination) toward individuals who engage in NSSI or disclose suicidal thoughts.