Mental Health Experts Evaluate Role of Facebook

Michelle Neumann, 22, left, and Sam Sekulich, 20, stand on the campus of Lake Forest College in Lake Forest, Ill. Ms. Neumann and Ms. Sekluich are president and vice president, respectively, of Active Minds, a suicide-awareness organization on campus.

—Keri Wiginton/Chicago Tribune/MCT/Getty

Suicide-prevention group sees potential in social networks

By Naomi Nix, Chicago Tribune

In her sophomore year at Lake Forest College near Chicago, Sam Sekulich had reached a breaking point. On top of the pressure she felt from classes and student clubs, she was fighting with her parents and not consistently taking medication for her bipolar disorder. Feeling anxious and overwhelmed, she went to the one place where someone is always listening: Facebook.

She posted that she hated life and wished maybe she could just "give up on it."

The help poured in. Friends commented on her post, asking if she was OK. A faculty member at her college checked on her through email. A good friend sent her a text and then visited her in her dorm...