To prepare for PostSecret’s Frank Warren visit to campus last month, UNT UPC created their very own PostSecret art display where students could submit their secrets to be hung up and displayed in the UNT Union’s art gallery. As I walked through the art gallery I found myself giggling at some of the secrets that were just silly, but then I noticed something heartbreaking... the further I went into the gallery, the more and more secrets I saw about depressed students.

There’s no question about it: college is a stressful time in someone’s life. For some, it’s their first time being away from their family, and for others the pressure of perfection weighs heavy on their shoulders, and even beyond that, there are plenty of reasons for a college student to be overwhelmed. Walking through the secrets, it became more and more real to me that there are more faces than we think that are just fronting a smile. From one secret to the next I found some admitting that they’re depressed, some admitting that they’ve tried to commit suicide, and then one that said they were "going to commit suicide soon."

Suicide is the third-leading cause of death among people aged 15-24 and the second-leading cause of death for college students. On a college campus there are reportedly over 1,000 suicides per year. In a survey conducted by a suicide prevention organization, one in five college students admit that their depression levels are higher than they should be, but only 6 percent say they would seek help. Depression, if left untreated, can end in a suicide attempt. In a study done by the University of California Berkley, researchers found that 60 percent of people who died by suicide were suffering from major depressive disorders, which are often unrecognized, undiagnosed, and untreated.

There are common misconceptions about suicide, and these misconceptions lead us to believe the notion that people who write these things or talk about these things are seeking attention or that someone who commits suicide wasn't willing to seek help. This isn't always true. Sometimes people are trying to reach out for any help that they can receive, and that's why they do something like write a secret about their depression to share anonymously to their campus. Sometimes they've sought all the help they could possibly thought of. A study shows that more than half of those who commit suicide have sought medical help within six months of their death.

I walked around among the many secrets, and I also saw hope. I saw people reaching out to these students with Bible verses, hopeful quotes, and even just simple pleas to not attempt to take their own lives. I saw college students connecting to one another in writing to let the other know that they were not alone on this campus or in these feelings. In one of the secrets that I shared in the article, you can see where others wrote on it trying to encourage the secret holder to live another day and find hope — to find help. Above one of the secrets, other students posted the following secrets:

College isn't the easiest thing in the world, and the feelings that people go through aren't always the easiest to understand. When life gets overwhelming, it feels as though the only answer is stepping out, but that is never the only answer. If you or someone you know is feeling suicidal or depressed, don't be afraid to reach out. UNT offers counseling to students, and there is hope!

National Suicide Hotline: 1-800-273-8255
Crisis Text Line: Text "Go" to 741-741
UNT Counseling Services: (940) 565-2741

You are not alone. You are loved. This is not where your story needs to end.