The semester is coming to an end and as a result students are looking forward to the holidays, family gatherings, no tests or papers and for a few, suicide.

Across the country, 10,000 college students attempt suicide each year with 1,000 students succeeding in the act. The result of this action leaves friends and family confused and alone, unable to understand the loss.

“Everybody loses. Suicide represents a permanent solution to a temporary dilemma,” said Counseling Psychologist Rick Long from the Counseling and Student Development Center.

“A person does not want to commit suicide. It is a last ditch effort” for help from friends and family, said Crisis Line Director Kris Povlen.

Toward the beginning and end of the semster, suicide is more likely due to the added pressures of changes in lifestyle and finals, Long said.

Warning signs of suicide include a change in moods and behavior. If a person normally quiet becomes outrageous or a happy person becomes withdrawn and depressed, “something is not right,” he said.

A suicidal person usually communicates his or her intentions openly or subtlely to a roommate or friend by statements about not bothering to do something because they will not be around much longer, Long said.

ygiene changes such as refusing to shower, shave or comb hair and altered dietary habits are also signs to be conscious of when a person becomes depressed, Long said.

Another sign to watch for is when person changes sleeping habits to sleeping during the day in order to be isolated in the evening, he said.

Contrary to belief, many students considering suicide are exceptional students, which in turn adds more pressures. These pressures are alleviated only after these students decide to commit suicide and realize studying is no longer needed, he said.

Long said, if a person begins to give away valued possessions, this is a “sign the person is tying up loose ends.” This might be one way the person is reaching for help; “all suicidal gestures should be taken seriously,” he said.

The Crisis Line is one of many options a suicidal person can use to help them. Volunteers try first to be direct and “assess where the caller is” in terms of the suicide, either just a thought or a plan of action, said Crisis Line Director Kris Povlsen.

Calling the crisis hotline, at 748-6655, will give a caller other options to call such as family services, DeKalb counseling centers, at the Student Development Center at NIU.

The best way for someone to help a friend who is suicidal is to be active in helping the friend, Polvsen said. Call the police or the University Health Services, drive out to the friend and get to them even, if needed, breaking into their home, Povlsen said.

The counseling services also has an emergency counselor on call after hours who can be contacted through the University Health Services, Long said.

Causes of suicidal tendencies relate to difficult transitions in a person’s life like coming and going to college, which can be “very stressful,” he said.

The number one reason for suicidal considerations is the loss of a relationship, whether it be a boyfriend, girlfriend, a death in the family or a divorce, Long said.

Many people place too much pressure on themselves. “Sometimes we are our own worse enemy,” Long said. Pressure may come from family or teachers as well.

“It is important for people to intervene so they (the troubled student) can work the whole thing through,” he said.

Depression can be positive as well as negative and does not always lead to suicide, Long said. Depression causes a person to look at themselves in a different frame of mind to more objectively solve problems, he said.

A depressed person has an opportunity to become a much stronger person using the depression as a feedback that something in that person’s life needs to be more closely examined, Long said.