Each member of our campus community has a role to play in supporting the mental health of our campus community. Thank you for caring for the health and well-being of others. The following describes how to recognize and respond to three different levels of distress.
Levels of distress
Concern: Observed signs of possible distress, needs follow-up conversation to learn more
Urgent: Demonstrated distress with possibility of risk requiring professional intervention
Emergency: Immediate threat of harm to self or others
Academic: Repeated absences, decline in academic performance (e.g., quality/quantity of work), frequent missed assignments or requests for extensions
Physical: Marked changes in physical appearance or hygiene, coming to class under the influence of alcohol or other drugs, fatigue/exhaustion, obvious cuts/burns/bruises
Emotional: Appearing anxious, sad, or irritable (e.g., excessive worry, crying panic attacks), pronounced self-doubt, disproportionate response to grades/evaluations
Social: Isolation or withdrawal, conflicts or difficulties getting along with others (e.g., group project)
Experience of distressing events: Significant illness/death in one’s life, trauma, bias/microaggressions, natural disasters, major life changes
How to Respond at the Concern Level of Distress:
Talk with the person directly
Refer the person to relevant resources (e.g., academic, health-related, or social support) and offer to help get them connected
Check back in with the student in a few days
Tell someone else who can help:
Students:
Residential resources: Residence Hall Director (RHD), Resident Advisor (RA), House Assistant Dean (HAD), Graduate Resident Fellow (GRF), Undergraduate Resident Fellow (URF)
If a student shares with you that they have been thinking about suicide or feeling hopeless, reflect back what you’ve heard, (e.g., “So, you are feeling that things are hopeless…”). Let the student know you’re glad they told you, that you want to help, and that things can get better. It’s okay to tell the student that you want to enlist the assistance of a professional resource in order to help them. For example, you can call Cornell Health (607-255-5155) with the student present so you can both consult with a mental health professional.
Research shows that asking someone directly about suicide does not increase the likelihood that they will act on these thoughts. In fact, asking about suicidal thoughts can lower anxiety, open up communication, and reduce the risk of an impulsive act.
It can be unnerving to hear someone say they are having thoughts of suicide. Take a deep breath and remember that suicidal thoughts, like all thoughts, are temporary, and that addressing those thoughts with the student does not increase the risk that they will act on them. Suicidal thinking can be treated.
Emergency Level of Distress
Signs at the Emergency Level of Distress:
Immediate threat of harm to self or others
Urgent level of distress in which a person has become non-responsive to outreach and is unable to connect to a crisis professional.
How to Respond at the Emergency Level of Distress:
The online 20-minute videoIntervene includes brief filmed scenarios demonstrating ways in which student bystanders can successfully intervene in problematic situations. Seven different situations are addressed, including sexual assault, sexual harassment, intimate partner violence (emotional abuse), hazing, alcohol emergency, emotional distress, and bias. This film was developed by the Skorton Center for Health Initiatives at Cornell Health.