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December, one who majored in history at the School of Cultural Science and another who studied at the School of Fisheries and Oceanography. The two earlier victims died a week apart from each other.
According to faculty members and the victims’ families, neither had academic difficulties before taking their own lives.
Dyta Nabilah Widyaningsih, a student at the university’s School of Journalism and Communications, said she was surprised to learn about the incident through a social media grapevine. The 19-year-old said she finds school assignments to be overwhelming at times, but there are lecturers who always help students.
“We can discuss our problems with our lecturers and the student association also has an advocacy division where we can deliver our complaints, after which they will conduct a hearing,” she said on Saturday. Another student, Renata Maximillian, said she was aware the university offered counseling services, although she has not yet figured out how to access them.
“I know the college offers counseling services, but I have never gone there or used them,” she said.
Syauqy urged students to be more open to the university’s staff members about academic or personal problems. Students who have academic problems are strongly advised to talk to their academic advisors, deputy deans and other lecturers. Students who are troubled by personal issues are encouraged to use the university’s counseling services, which are run by the School of Psychology.
Indonesia has seen a rising number of suicides in recent years, based on World Health Organization data. In 2018, the suicide rate in the country stood at 3.4 per 100,000 people — or 8,840 people. The number increased slightly from three per 100,000 people in 2017 — or 7,800 people.
Data from the Health Ministry shows that the majority of people with depression in Indonesia do not receive proper medical treatment, as only 9 percent of the depressed consult healthcare professionals and take medicine. The 2018 Basic Health Research revealed that 6.1 percent of Indonesians aged 15 and above, or 11.8 million people, suffer from depression.
A psychologist at trauma counseling foundation Yayasan Pulih, Gisella Pratiwi, said some people tended to associate suicidal thoughts and depression with the stigma of “having weak faith”. Often times, these people also underestimated others’ feelings of depression and ignored it — which is an inappropriate thing to do.
“People with depression feel actual suffering and all they need is to be heard and understood,” Gisella said. “Give them a chance to pour out their feelings. Try to be a good listener.”