1. Does your friend have problems sleeping at night? 2. Does your friend feel hopeless or have an overwhelming feeling of sadness or guilt? 3. Is your friend over-eating or denying food saying he/she is not hungry? 4. Does your friend show any interest in his/her future? 5. Has your friend withdrawn from his/her friends? 6. Has your friend withdrawn from activities he/she used to enjoy? 7. Is your friend using more alcohol or smoking more cigarettes than usual? 8. Has your friend’s school performance declined? 9. Is your friend irritable or sad most of the time? If you answered yes to several of these questions, it may suggest that something is wrong and your friend could benefit from getting professional help. Advise them to go and seek help on campus at CPS or talk to your Student Support Manager/Faculty Dean’s office about how to get support. Off campus, speak to a doctor, counsellor/psychologist or religious adviser on how you can best support your friend and get help for them.

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Early Life Experiences 1. Many changes and big problems in family life. 2. Loss of important people and valued things. Personality 3. Perfectionists and high achievers who expect a lot of themselves. 4. Difficulty coping with life changes, pressure and stress. Relationships 5. Few close friends to confide in and/or problems and arguments with friends. Trigger Events 6. Academic failure. 7. Recent death of someone special or relationship that ends badly. 8. Anniversaries of traumatic events or losses in life. 9. Ongoing financial and/or family problems. 10. Experiencing symptoms of mental illness or ongoing physical illness. History 11. Previous suicide attempts. 12. Access to harmful tools or environment which might make committing suicide easier.

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1. Your friend isolates themselves and withdraws from friends. 2. Openly shows a negative attitude toward self. 3. Indicates a sense of feeling useless, hopeless or helpless. Talks or acts like not a single person cares and suggests they have completely given up on themselves and others. 4. Loses interest in usual activities which previously interested them. 5. Starts to give away valued possessions, talks of making a will, writing farewell letters, gathering pills, or saying good-bye. 6. Talks like there is no hope even in the future. Makes comments indicating that they might not be around in the future, i.e. "It won't matter soon anyway". 7. Increases their use/abuse of addictive substances. It is important to remember that you cannot be responsible for another person's actions when they are stressed, depressed, or suicidal. Whether they are crying out for help or suffering silently in despair, only they can help themselves. What you can do is be the most caring and responsible friend possible during the hard times. This means listening to their concerns, supporting them, and helping them get skilled help. Call Lifeline NUS (6516 7777) if your friend is threatening suicide.

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1. Take the problem seriously. Even if the problem doesn't seem real or important to you, it is important to them. Things may be piling up and they may feel overwhelmed. 2. Show them you understand. It is not helpful to say, “Things will be better tomorrow” or “Don’t worry- relax-lah! If they could, they would! Remember CLUES: C Connect Make contact. Reach out, talk to them. Notice their pain. L Listen Take the time and really pay attention. You don't have to have all the answers. Just listen. U Understand Nod, pay attention, let them know you appreciate what they are going through. E Express Concern Say that you care, you are worried and you want to be helpful. They may try to put you off. Stay in touch. Reach out. Invite them to do things with you. Stick with them where they are. S Seek Help Tell them you want to go with them to talk to someone who can help, preferably a professional with experience and the ability to help. Don't agree to be secretive. Enlarge the circle of support. 3. Offer to join the person in some activity they normally enjoy. They need a chance to have some fun and see life from a different perspective.

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1. DO talk about suicide openly. Don’t believe the myth that they might commit suicide just because you asked them! Asking actually shows you care and often makes it okay for the person to talk about how they are really feeling. 2. DO take the threat seriously. Insist on getting help. If they don't agree to help themselves, then you need to go to talk to someone who can help. 3. DO NOT agree to keep suicide thoughts or threats a secret. Keeping the secret won't help the person. And you cannot bear the responsibility if they do hurt or kill themselves. 4. DON’T try ‘reverse psychology' or challenge them to go ahead with their threat. Instead, keep showing that you care and insist they get help. 5. DO let them know you care they are alive. Tell them directly that you care and offer to go with them to talk to someone who can help.

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1. Pass on your know-how: offer to tutor someone who is struggling and does not have the know-how. 2. Reach out to those in need in your faculty. Ask your Student Support Manager how you can befriend someone who needs it. Student Support Managers can be contacted in these faculties: School of Design and Environment : Ms Cathy Tan Faculty of Engineering : Mr Martin Nonis Faculty of Science : Ms Deivanai Kumaran Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences : Ms Soon Huey Yann 3. Support our campaigns to reach out to students in need: Volunteer with CPS. 4. Find out more about groups and workshops run by CPS to develop emotional support skills, Personal and Interpersonal Effectiveness, Life Skills, Active Listening and Mental Health First Aid.

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