My friend is 18 and came to my university this spring for their first semester. They have been diagnosed with BPD and are trying to get diagnosed with ASD. They have a long history of being abused, and literally don’t remember most of their life due to extreme trauma and neglect. School was going ok, but then they got sick, medications were causing dizziness and fainting spells, and therefore grades started to decline, it got harder to go out and get food, etc. 

I’ve been there since the first day of classes. We met in a design class. I’m 20, have undiagnosed ADHD and anxiety, and have a history dealing with suicidal friends/SOs, so this can be triggering for me. 

For the past week, their suicidal tendencies have gotten extremely intense, and they’ve attempted twice, trying to OD on Seroquel. Last night I made a deal and managed to get any potential tools for suicide out of their room in exchange for 10 mg of Valium. I know it’s illegal, but we checked how it might interact with the other medications, and we were ok. They have an addiction to another Benzodiazepine, so the thought of getting another one was enough to get them to give up their methods of self harm and OD. 

This morning, however, they told their SO about their attempts, and the conversation isn’t going well. They’re now text-screaming about how they’re just playing with numbers, life is just numbers, and proceeding to list of dates, mg of drugs, number of cuts, etc. It’s heart-breaking because obviously, I don’t want anyone to feel like that! But at this point, what can I do? I know how a BPD mind works (from an outside perspective), but I literally don’t know how to respond at this point. I feel helpless. And I also know that this is putting my mental health and grades in the line. 

Even right now, I’m being asked to go over there. If anyone has any advice, I’d greatly appreciate it. 

TL;DR My friend is suicidal, life feels hopeless, I want to help, but I’m also trying to preserve my own mental health and safety. What can I do?