Observe Changes in Behavior:

1. Withdrawal or isolation
2. Drastic change in personal appearance
3. Somatic complaints – muscle aches, stomachaches, headaches
4. Inability to concentrate and problems in judgment and memory
5. Dramatic shift in quality of schoolwork
6. Changes in daily behavior and living patterns – extreme fatigue, boredom, stammering, decreased appetite.
7. Social behavior changes – behavior disorders in class, falling asleep in class, emotional outbursts, inability to sit still, sudden bursts of energy followed by lethargy, excessive use of alcohol and drugs.
8. Open signs of mental illness – delusions and hallucinations
9. Sense of overwhelming guilt or shame
10. Break-up in a relationship (no matter how short or how distressing the relationship is/was)
11. Loss of friends/Absence of friends
12. Suicidal statements
13. Preoccupation with death (especially as seen in art, poetry, and journals)
14. Making final arrangements (giving away possessions, etc.)
15. Life Crises
    • Death of a parent/spouse, friend/child
    • Divorce of parents/spouse or siblings/children
    • Personal problem with law or family member with the same
    • Personal injury or chronic illness or family member with the same
    • Marriage of sibling/child or remarriage of parent/spouse
    • Being fired from a job or parent/spouse being fired from job
    • Retirement of parent/spouse
    • Drastic change in health of a family member
    • Unexpected pregnancy, abortion or birth or same for family member
    • Sibling/child leaving home
    • Outstanding or poor personal achievement by students
    • Parent/spouse beginning or stopping a work career
    • Change in residence
    • Having trouble with teachers or having trouble with boss
    • Anniversary of parents/own divorce or death
    • Vacations, holidays, first week of spring