Abuse or just being intense...?

I honestly believe that involving the school counselor at this stage is a mistake. It’s more likely to make them retreat even further into their own shell rather than helping.
First off, you should be the one sitting down with them, or perhaps one of their close friends, to have a real conversation.

Keith Jones76 said:You're dumping way too much of your own personal rage into this, and honestly, it’s got nothing to do with the situation at hand. You're hijacking the whole conversation just to vent about your own issues.

As for the underlying issue, I’d argue her behavior is essentially a subconscious cry for help.
Do you have access to a psychologist, a counselor, or maybe just a professor you actually trust—some kind of reliable adult you can vent to about your suspicions? Someone who can take those concerns and handle the follow-up? You could even stay completely anonymous.
It doesn't automatically mean we're talking about abuse, though it certainly could be. It's more like those depressive episodes you see in teenagers—which aren't exactly rare, as Rebecca Bennett41 already pointed out.
If we don't step in, this could either fizzle out on its own after a lot of unnecessary suffering, or—in some cases—it can spiral into suicide, eating disorders, self-harm, drug abuse, or dropping out of school entirely.

I think I'm actually going to go ahead with what you guys suggested.

Thanks a million.

Rebecca Bennett41 said:I honestly believe that involving the school counselor at this stage is a mistake. It’s more likely to make them retreat even further into their own shell rather than helping.
First off, you should be the one sitting down with them, or perhaps one of their close friends, to have a real conversation.

The thing is, I can't really reach out to her friends—I'm not exactly "close" with them.

No, please, just go ahead and run straight to her to start talking right now.

Rebecca Bennett41 said:No, please, just go ahead and run straight to her to start talking right now.

She’s basically 19 miles to me—I really only see her around campus (and even then, she's hardly ever there)