Students Experiencing Suicidal Ideation

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students and a common symptom associated with depression. It is important to view all suicidal comments as serious and to make appropriate referrals. High risk indicators include:

• Feelings of hopelessness, helplessness, futility
• A severe loss or threat of a loss
• Feeling alienated or isolated
• History of drug and/or alcohol abuse or currently self-medicating with drugs and alcohol
• History of mental illness
• A previous suicide attempt
• A suicide plan and the means to carry out that plan
• Preoccupation with death
• Writing about suicide or death (i.e., poetry, letters, journal, posts on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook or other forms of social media)

Do:

• Take the student seriously – 80% of people who die by suicide give a warning of their attempt.
• Be direct – ask if the student is suicidal, they have a suicide plan, if they have the means to carry out the plan. These questions actually decrease a person’s impulse to carry through with their plan.
• Be available to listen.
• Activate the Triton CORE team as needed. 
• Consider staying with the person if they are currently unsafe, impulsive, and expressing thoughts of suicide, until emergency services arrive. Give them ample space and avoid physical contact or touch.

Don’t:

• Assure the student that you are their best friend; instead, agree that you are a stranger, but even strangers can be concerned.
• Be overly warm and nurturing.
• Be cute or humorous.
• Challenge or agree with any mistaken or illogical beliefs.
• Be ambiguous.