Two college students in North Carolina commit suicide in less than 24 hours: experts warn of a mental health crisis among young people

Two North Carolina State University students have died by apparent suicide in less than 24 hours, the university announced, as the country records record rates of depression and anxiety, and as teens grapple with an unprecedented eating disorder crisis. .

The body of a student was found Wednesday night in the woods near Raleigh Lake after a person alerted university police that a student had sent him a message saying he intended to end his life. University spokeswoman Lauren Barker told NBC News, the sister network of Noticias Telemundo.

Hours later, a second student was reported dead by "apparent suicide," Barker told the aforementioned outlet.

In this academic year,

more than double the three that there are usually per year.

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“Please take better care of yourselves,

Don't be afraid to step in if you think a friend is in trouble, and don't be ashamed if you are," University Chancellor Randy Woodson said in a statement.

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According to a national survey released last month, college students experience record

Eating Disorders Among Teens

Meanwhile, eating disorders, especially anorexia, are skyrocketing, experts warn.

“The kids are not doing well,” Melissa Freizinger, associate director of the eating disorders program at Children's Hospital Boston, told NBC News.

“As the pandemic started and then progressed, we kept thinking, 'Oh, it's going to get better in 2022. It's going to get better in 2023.'

But it has not been like that, ”she assured.

[Is it safe to call 988, the new suicide prevention hotline?

This you should know before dialing]

According to a report by the company Trilliant Health,

more than doubled among those under 17 years of age in the last five years.

From 2018 to mid-2022, visits among this age group

across all eating disorders, from 50,000 visits in early 2018 to more than 100,000 in 2022. Visits related to anorexia nervosa, which has the highest mortality rate of all mental illnesses, shot up 129.26%.

Eating disorders among youth ages 17 and underTrilliant Health

Also, many teens have more severe symptoms.

“They are sicker and their illnesses are more complicated than before,” Freizinger said, noting that even after the pandemic, teens are being hospitalized at an alarming rate.

Many require medical stabilization for malnutrition, and

Minority Disorders

Despite the stereotype that eating disorders occur in thin, white women, experts warn that adolescents from racial and ethnic minority groups, as well as children and adolescents with larger bodies, develop certain eating disorders at even higher rates

According to a 2011 JAMA Psychiatry study, bulimia is more common among Hispanic teens than white teens, and binge eating disorder is more common among black and Hispanic teens than white teens. 

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Add to this that many specialists do not accept Medicaid or do not accept any form of insurance, which can make treatment access even more difficult for underrepresented minority groups, especially Black and Hispanic populations, who are more likely to have Medicaid or totally uninsured than white Americans.

Experts warn about social networks and ensure that the algorithms of these platforms encourage eating disorder behaviors and reinforce a negative body image.

Last year, the Seattle-based Social Media Victims Law Center filed three lawsuits - two against Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram, and one against TikTok - alleging that these apps cause chronic eating disorders in young girls.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, call 988 to get in touch with the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

You can also call 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741, or visit