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U.S. transition to 988 suicide and crisis lifeline begins Saturday

hhs.gov

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Re: U.S. transition to 988 suicide and crisis lifeline begins Saturday

#51

Post by metadat »

fuckcensorship wrote: post #42

Suicide hotlines, on the surface, seem like a good thing. Having a phone number someone can call 24/7 to talk to someone who is trained in helping someone undergoing a mental health crisis seems like an effective way to reduce suicides and benefit mental health overall. However, I think they have the opposite effect in practice. I suffer from pretty severe depression. It runs in my family and it is something I've str…

Is it better to receive the suggestion to call the help line phone number than no reply at all?

Re: U.S. transition to 988 suicide and crisis lifeline begins Saturday

#52

Post by DigiDigiorno »

charcircuit wrote: post #19
DigiDigiorno wrote: post #7

I'm not sure how these lines work. I wonder how they balance public safety against the disincentive of involuntary commitment and the stigmas attached to it. I imagine if you feel there is a risk you will have your rights taken away (including the ability to end your life), you are less likely to seek help.

>I imagine if you feel there is a risk you will have your rights taken away If this is possible imagine if people "swatted" you with this to get you locked up somewhere.

I would guess it is not only possible, but one of the intentions behind it. A percent breakdown of calls to involuntary commitments would be useful. I found something about a Florida Department of Family & Children suicide line having a 19% rate of involuntary commitment after a follow-up. (https://www.miamiherald.com/news/health-care/article26351131...)

It is scary to think about, but I think both swatting and this would be solved by authorities looking at the scene without blindly taking irreversible action. (In Florida, once the Baker Act involuntary commitment begins, it is required to continue for a couple days. Police examine the suspect before formally doing it, because it is a pretty big deal.)

That is not to say I agree (or disagree) with these calls being used for involuntary commitment, I just think the swatting problem is the symptom of an unrelated issue.

Re: U.S. transition to 988 suicide and crisis lifeline begins Saturday

#53

Post by cpill »

fuckcensorship wrote: post #42

Suicide hotlines, on the surface, seem like a good thing. Having a phone number someone can call 24/7 to talk to someone who is trained in helping someone undergoing a mental health crisis seems like an effective way to reduce suicides and benefit mental health overall. However, I think they have the opposite effect in practice. I suffer from pretty severe depression. It runs in my family and it is something I've str…

No post body was provided.

Re: U.S. transition to 988 suicide and crisis lifeline begins Saturday

#54

Post by chrisseaton »

piker wrote: post #3

Don't understand this idea. In UK there's a dozen or so magic numbers with one for each special crisis that you're supposed to memorize. Some are straightforward: 111 (non emergency health), 999 (emergency), but then there's 101, 112, 105? and you're supposed to dial them in certain circumstances. It seems this takes some triage load off, but it also seems like the path from "what's your emergency?" "this is not an e…

> that you're supposed to memorize

If the situation you are in means that you don’t have time, ability, means, or mental capacity to Google for the right number then the right number to use is 999.

It’s a self-solving problem.

Re: U.S. transition to 988 suicide and crisis lifeline begins Saturday

#55

Post by vorpalhex »

kelseyfrog wrote: post #37

What constitutes a 988 emergency? I was raised with a sacrosanct view of 911. Do not call unless it is a bona fide emergency. This means something along the lines of a situation outside my expertise that poses a threat to life. Broadly speaking it ranges from medical, physical, security, and probably a host of other things I'm forgetting. However, I don't have the same instilled ideas about 988. What are the sufficie…

Your view of 911 is incorrect. You should attend a safety briefing from your responders (or if in a smaller region, call their office number). To loosely rephrase:

"911 is if you need assistance now. Non-emergency is for the paperwork the next day."

Re: U.S. transition to 988 suicide and crisis lifeline begins Saturday

#56

Post by Kye »

cmg wrote: post #30
Waterluvian wrote: post #21

Policing is in such a horrible state in America that an emergency number that excludes police involvement seems increasingly necessary. I wonder if you can get paramedics through this route or if it just rings and you eventually get a counsellor.

I have experience in this field: I ran technology for one of the only hotlines in the US that didn't engage in non-consensual active rescue [0] [1]. I've written about this a little on this site in the past, when Crisis Text Line was caught sharing data. Many, if not most, of these places give the operator full access to your phone number and whatever geolocation data they can get based on that. They also have polici…

I see people recommend Trans Lifeline all the time. Are you able to offer specifics on this?

Re: U.S. transition to 988 suicide and crisis lifeline begins Saturday

#57

Post by marcinzm »

fuckcensorship wrote: post #42

Suicide hotlines, on the surface, seem like a good thing. Having a phone number someone can call 24/7 to talk to someone who is trained in helping someone undergoing a mental health crisis seems like an effective way to reduce suicides and benefit mental health overall. However, I think they have the opposite effect in practice. I suffer from pretty severe depression. It runs in my family and it is something I've str…

The 2+ million calls per year to the US suicide prevention hotline would disagree with you.

Re: U.S. transition to 988 suicide and crisis lifeline begins Saturday

#58

Post by jamiek88 »

cmg wrote: post #30
Waterluvian wrote: post #21

Policing is in such a horrible state in America that an emergency number that excludes police involvement seems increasingly necessary. I wonder if you can get paramedics through this route or if it just rings and you eventually get a counsellor.

I have experience in this field: I ran technology for one of the only hotlines in the US that didn't engage in non-consensual active rescue [0] [1]. I've written about this a little on this site in the past, when Crisis Text Line was caught sharing data. Many, if not most, of these places give the operator full access to your phone number and whatever geolocation data they can get based on that. They also have polici…

> if you're not going to hurt yourself, what do you want me to do?"

My brother is going through some stuff and got this exact response in the UK.

If you aren’t immediately about to harm yourself there’s basically no state provided resources.

Re: U.S. transition to 988 suicide and crisis lifeline begins Saturday

#59

Post by danachow »

fuckcensorship wrote: post #42

Suicide hotlines, on the surface, seem like a good thing. Having a phone number someone can call 24/7 to talk to someone who is trained in helping someone undergoing a mental health crisis seems like an effective way to reduce suicides and benefit mental health overall. However, I think they have the opposite effect in practice. I suffer from pretty severe depression. It runs in my family and it is something I've str…

No post body was provided.

Re: U.S. transition to 988 suicide and crisis lifeline begins Saturday

#60

Post by Waterluvian »

pigtailgirl wrote: post #32
Waterluvian wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t disagree. But I’m not sure what alternative I have to hoping this might be the start of something. In Ontario an ambulance trip is about $40. But in the US it can be crippling.

-- An ambulance in Ontario is $40 if you have OHIP - I know plenty of non-OHIP folks who have gotten hit with $200+ ambulance bills - myself included --

That’s still orders of magnitude less than many American ambulance visits.
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