‘Alarming rate’ of despair revealed

FACEBOOK “Confessions” pages allowed students from the city’s top high schools to share their unfiltered thoughts: Prom dates. College admissions. Academic pressure.

For kids at the elite Bronx High School of Science, a scarier topic surfaced — suicide.

The online outlet for Bronx Science students emerged as a gathering spot for dozens of depressed and anxious teens around the time of January midterms, raising red flags among concerned administrators.

“Looking back at the 4 years I spent here, I’m filled with regret,” reads an anonymous post last Sunday from one Bronx Science student.

“People always scorn at the idea of suicide and the people who chose that path. But, sometimes, suicide is the best option.”

A second student, in a March 20 posting, mentioned the potentially lethal depression caused by bullying.

“I had a terrible day yesterday and I’m on the verge of suicide,” the student wrote. “I’m constantly ignored and outcasted, ridiculed, and laughed at.”

Bronx Science Confessions has garnered more than 6,000 “likes” since it was created in October 2013. The page is followed by more than 5,800 people, and users have submitted nearly 11,700 posts.

More than two dozen posts on the page since Jan. 1 deal with depression, anxiety or loneliness — and several of the posts mention suicide.

The deluge of negative posts on the page prompted its anonymous moderator, self-identified as a Bronx Science senior, to address the issue.

“The amount of super-depressing confessions being submitted has somehow increased at an alarming rate,” the moderator wrote Jan. 15.

“Bronx Science Confessions is not a mental support page,” the moderator added. “You need to seek out professional mental health help.”

Assistant Principal Andrew Nasser even placed a Feb. 23 offer for psychological help on the public forum.

“If you are suffering please