“I started realizing I had to talk to people and not bottle it up,” she said.

Connell found solace at Yellow Ribbon, a local support group for teens who have lost loved ones to suicide. She said she found empathy and understanding among others dealing with the aftermath of suicide.

For psychology sophomore Jaeyong Cho, who lost his best friend to suicide when they were in the eighth grade, the hurt affected him physically as well.

Ever since Cho’s arrival in America in 2006, the two were inseparable. When she committed suicide, Cho said it took him days to find the strength to even leave his bed.

“I (lay) in bed all day … my brother tried to get me to do sports, but I didn’t want to do anything,” he said.

Traumatic grief is common among suicide survivors; some even suffer symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Founder and CEO of the Alliance of Hope Ronnie Walker said some even suffer suicidal thoughts after losing someone.

“It’s a roller coaster of emotions,” she said.

Sept. 9-15 is Suicide Prevention Week nationwide, including on MSU’s campus. While some students have chosen to wear yellow in memorial of those who have lost their lives to suicide, and others wrote “love” on their arms. Connell argues the most important thing to do is talk. Despite the time that has passed, she said people still look the other way occasionally when she opens up.
“If I say, ‘My dad died by suicide,’ (people) change the subject completely; he’s still my dad, and I want to talk about it,” she said. “(Suicide) needs to be talked about.”

Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among college students, and the third leading cause for people between the ages of 15 and 24, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Seeing the signs and speaking up could save a life, Walker said.

Walker’s stepson, who formerly was a student at Stanford, took his life in 1995.

“I’m not necessarily saying he’d still be alive, but we certainly could’ve stopped a lot of what happened to him,” Walker said. “People have to be on guard.”