Indicators of Distress, Disruption, and Crisis

Students share their concerns in many different ways. Get to know your students and look for groupings, frequency, and duration of indicators.

Academic Indicators

  • Repeated absences.
  • Sudden decline in quality of work and grades.
  • Disorganized performances.
  • Multiple requests for extensions.
  • Overly demanding of faculty and staff time and attention.
  • Bizarre content in writing or presentations.
  • You find yourself having more personal (rather than academic) conversations during office hours.

Physical Indicators

  • Marked changes in physical appearance including deterioration in grooming, hygiene, or weight loss/gain.
  • Excessive fatigue/sleep disturbance.
  • Intoxication, hangovers, or smelling of alcohol or marijuana.
  • Self-harming behaviors such as cutting, burning, etc.
  • Disorientated or "out of it."
  • Garbled, tangential, disconnected, or slurred speech.
  • Behavior is our of context or bizarre.
Sharing information with our office is critical so we can understand what is going on, assist as needed, and support our campus community. Once situations have resolved and are deemed safe, complete a report so we can review for next steps.

​Psychological Indicators

  •  Self-disclosure of personal distress such as family problems, financial difficulties, comtemplating suicide, grief, or a recent hospitalization.
  • Unusual or disproportional emotional response to events.
  • Excessive tearfulness, panic reactions.
  • Irritability or unusual apathy.
  • Impacted by traumatic events.
  • Verbal abuse (e.g., tauntin, badgering, intimidation).
  • Expressions of concern about the student by his or her peers.

Safety Risk Indicators

  • Unprovoded anger or hostility.
  • Physical violence of any kind (shoving, grabbing, assault, presence of a weapon).
  • Implying or making a direct threat to harm self or others.
  • Stalking behavior or harassment.
  • Academic assignments dominated by themes of extreme hopelessness, rage, worthlessness, isolation, despair, acting out, suicidal ideation, violent behaviors.
  • Communicating implied or direct threats via email, correspondence, texting, or phone calls.

If concerned about your safety or the safety of others, immediately contact 911 or University Police at 715-346-3456.