Fraternity-sponsored event confronts stigma of suicide

By Kimberly Wynn | April 2, 2023

Pi Kappa Alpha at the University of Toledo is aiming to confront the stigma of suicide with an emphasis on the male perspective in an event that brings a national mental health advocate to speak.

The fraternity had experienced its own loss more than seven years ago when Chase Duvall, a sophomore pre-med major and Pi Kappa Alpha’s brand manager, songfest director, and morale leader, took his life at age 19.

Alex Andrews, a member of Pi Kappa Alpha at UT, said the stigma of reaching out for mental health services or counseling seems to be greater for a man than for a woman. “That is something we want to change,” he said. “Seek help whether you are male or female.”

Mr. Andrews said it was important to keep Mr. Duvall’s legacy alive.

“You never know when someone is going through something,” he said Saturday.

Last year’s event was attended by about 120 people. This year, Mr. Andrews said the fraternity is reaching further into the community.

“It made people realize how important it is to keep everyone close to you. Reaching out to that one person could make a difference,” he said.

Dennis Gillan, who has lost two brothers to suicide, will speak at 7 p.m. Friday at the UT Student Union Auditorium. Mr. Gillan relates his personal experience about how he recovered from his brothers’ suicides and found peace in sobriety. In addition, he will discuss the warning signs of mental distress and the benefits of therapy.

“This talk is truly now a calling and has morphed into me telling my story to a real call to action for everyone in the audience to get comfortable talking about tough topics like mental health and suicide prevention,” he said on his website.

Mr. Gillan was a junior in college when his older brother took his life.

“The phone rang, and my life changed. My older brother Mark was gone, and it was a suicide. I didn’t handle that very well and increased my use of alcohol and other substances. Not a great way to handle a stressful life event, and I wasn’t the only one struggling,” he wrote on his website.

Mr. Gillan got another phone call 11 years later. “My younger brother Matthew decided to follow Mark. Matthew made a forever decision. I lost two brothers to suicide and this thrust me into a very dark place,” he wrote.

The workshop is an interactive and judgment-free opportunity to discuss perspectives on mental health.

“Men are full of pride. Men account for 80 percent of all completed suicides. Women have more attempts,” he said in a phone interview Sunday. “Men are reluctant to ask for help. It is a pride thing. They are the fixer.”

Mr. Gillan said the pandemic, as it relates to suicide and mental health, has been a double-edged sword.

“In 2020, completed suicides went down. Then it came back in 2021. The longevity of the pandemic hurt us,” he said by phone. “But the pandemic also got us talking about mental health.”

Mr. Gillan’s talk touches on the signs of a person who may be contemplating suicide. He said talk, behavior, and mood can give clues. As for talk, such words as “I am a burden” or “You would be better off without me” may be vocalized.

Behaviors may include withdrawal and isolation or an increased use of alcohol and drugs.

Moods may range from becoming calm, since there is a plan in place, to recklessness, since there is no longer a concern over dying.

“They are in pain. They want the pain to go away,” Mr. Gillan said in the interview. “They have lost hope.”