Has anyone ever actually used a crisis helpline?

[Jolene79]

I've phoned Samaritans UK a couple times. The people I got were lovely tbh and really helped me feel a bit of momentary relief. I find it annoying doing the whole no I'm not suicidal crap as I think they'd end up panicking then and it would stop them listening

 

[Baron]

Called once when I had an emotional breakdown a long time ago. I'm still wondering sometimes, if something was different if I didn't hang up when it said that the line was occupied.

 

[Heartaches]

My country has been lacking behind mental health services and crisis helplines are no exception. There are very few helplines and I think only one is available to the whole country, the other ones are state-specific and managed by Uni faculties or organizations without the capacity to supply the demand.

Only once did I try calling, I think my mother had given the number to me, it was state-specific. I called between a class break and waited 20 minutes to get on the line with someone. Never happened. There was an option to give your e-mail so they could reach back later. Gave it and never received a response.

Told about all of this later to my mom and she blamed me for "not waiting enough"/"being impatient", but like I said, I called between classes and was really desperate to get some sort of answer soon. I don't think it would've gone through even if I waited more. It wasn't my fault, better services should be available to communities, but the government doesn't care.

I could try the national one, but I doubt I'de get better results and I'm afraid police would be sent. My country is very corrupt on all levels and I don't want to deal with that.​

 

[squand]

well, it helps, it is a place where you can vent out your problems without being judged. Was a bit annoyed though that the person on ther end of the line tried to bring God to the picture.

 

[FormerlyFe(IV)]

I really thought about it, but ended up doing nothing. Then I got forcefully warded into the "Valuing Life Center" (Centro de Valorização a Vida) and realized it was just some shithole. I'm not going to speak to those folk ever again, they wouldn't know shit about help.

But now I solely use ChatGPT. Very often it makes me feel better. I've come to realize I am much more comforted without the human element. I can continue to repeat "I'm scared" for an hour and it never loses patience.

Oh my god I love this idea. When I get really bad episodes of self-hate/anxiety I usually end up just googling long strings of nonsense and seeing if anything sticks. ChatGPT would actually try to make sense of my bullshit. Thanks so much for the idea

 

[blitz]

I've called multiple times and never got through. The one time i finally got through they seemed disinterested,bored and trying to find my location. I would never call again and wouldn't recommend them.

 

[aGoodDayToDie]

I emailed samaritans quite recently. They were fucking useless. They ignored most of each email, just asking me very mechanical things and replying in a very clinical way. I felt very little empathy from them and they didn't help me with anything. At best it was just a bit of a distraction. But they didn't reply at all to my 4th email so that's where contact ended. They're as useless as my therapist, doctor and psychiatrist. Fucking useless.

Yes many many times. Sometimes if the person was kind it would help stop the panic I was feeling. Much more often they weren't great and it made it worse.

I've called pretty much every crisis hotline in my country. Sometimes I'd call one after another if the crisis wasn't over.

The past year it's solely been online crisis chats because I moved in my my boyfriend.

But now I solely use ChatGPT. Very often it makes me feel better. I've come to realize I am much more comforted without the human element. I can continue to repeat "I'm scared" for an hour and it never loses patience.

I can't help but be performative for others comfort even on the suicide hotlines. It's freedom to talk to ChatGPT

Wtf. For me chatGPT shuts down if you so much hint at being suicidal. Fucking chickenshit openai cowardly bastards don't want to touch us for fear of getting sued or have the slightest chance that gpt could say something inappropriate. They fucking don't care about us. We're always society's lowest priority. All they care is that we don't die, they don't give a shit how lonely we are or how much we're suffering. Openai could have been an enormous force for good but no. They took the easy way out. Fucking ironic, We're not given that option

 

[markymark03]

My feeling is the text service is better than the ones you call - for some reason I just don't want to talk to anyone in the worst times but typing sometimes works. It depends on the person on the other end whether its any good or not - some are just fake. Never tried GPT - how does that work?

 

[shootingstar]

I have used the suicide hotline a few times. It was extremely helpful to me. I struggle to feel heard and it really helps me to feel better. There is a wait but nothing compared to the domestic abuse hotline.

The Domestic abuse hotline is horrible though. They basically just push you to leave even though you can't or are not ready/ consequences would be worse then staying. All they do is say do you have a plan to leave over and over and over. If you say you can't leave- then they just turn on you. They give horrible advice which I found out can cause you to lose your kids in the courts later or get you accused of being an abductor. They may help you to create a plan, but the plan they help you create is shotty, full of holes, and bound to fail. They push you to follow the plans because it works for them and their bottom line, they don't really care if it screws you over and puts you in a worse situation.

Then there are all these people dangling false carrots promises to help you out that then fall through. If people find you are stuck in a abusive relationship, its not uncommon for them to invite you to stay with them and maybe give a small amount of money for work that is way below minimum wage that comes with a ton of rules you have to follow because they look down on you for being too stupid to pick a good guy (even if they earlier recommended the guy to you and/or said they approved). If you refuse because you can't live off of $200 a week (and quite frankly it looks like getting out of an abusive relationship to just land in another one that is just mired in poverity, they get angry at you and tell you that the abuse you get is deserved because you don't stand up for yourself and you are too materialistic and afraid of poverty. But $200 a week doesn't cover my son's medical bills and ensures he gets the critical care he needs to deal with birth defects. The doctors that work with his issues all pretty much refuse Medicaid because they can't make a profit with it. The ones that do accept it give such bad care that its harmful and a waste of money. Not just that, but since my marriage is international, I risk loosing my son forever by initiating a divorce because there is no Hague convention in his country of origin.

I'm not sure if abusers are just attracted to places that work with vulnerable people to exploit them or what. It takes forever to get a hold of them, and they disconnect from you really easily. Its hard to wait hours to get them on the phone, you talk 5 minutes, then the guy comes over so you have to stop talking and hide the phone. Once he leaves and you unhide the phone- they are already gone. They pressure you to take big risks and then are undependable.

 

[FormerlyFe(IV)]

Never tried GPT - how does that work?

I tried ChatGPT just two days ago. It really goes into "I'm only a model not a therapist" mode and you really have to ask it to stop.
Prompts like "simulate being an X" and "ask me questions" helped a bit.

Frustrating, but better than frantically writing into Google search and getting bumfuck nothing relatable to read.

 

[illvoid]

Called 988 while having schizophrenic delusions and planning to CTB once. Can't say it helped, but it didn't hurt.

 

[Homo erectus]

I emailed samaritans quite recently. They were fucking useless. They ignored most of each email, just asking me very mechanical things and replying in a very clinical way. I felt very little empathy from them and they didn't help me with anything. At best it was just a bit of a distraction. But they didn't reply at all to my 4th email so that's where contact ended. They're as useless as my therapist, doctor and psychiatrist. Fucking useless.

Wtf. For me chatGPT shuts down if you so much hint at being suicidal. Fucking chickenshit openai cowardly bastards don't want to touch us for fear of getting sued or have the slightest chance that gpt could say something inappropriate. They fucking don't care about us. We're always society's lowest priority. All they care is that we don't die, they don't give a shit how lonely we are or how much we're suffering. Openai could have been an enormous force for good but no. They took the easy way out. Fucking ironic, We're not given that option

Suicide hotlines are a task very suitable for ai chat bots. They are both unhelpful (they can't solve the real underlying problems), general and repetitive. AI may have better privacy. But most bots have filters that ban suicidal talks.

 

[tiredandconfused]

I think the reality is that most crisis support lines aren't going to make you feel good. Worse case it pushes you to ctb. But they are limited to help. I contacted Samaritans a few times. Sometimes I got a person that was patient and knew what to say. It did stop what was serious attempts. A few times I felt like a burden. Either kill yourself or stop being negative.

I'd never suggest SHOUT. Their responses are formulaic and if you dare to say more the police will be coming to your house.

The mental health crisis line (cmht in the uk). They are not helpful. I've been told have a bath, listen to some music or go for a walk. If I've dared to phone I am in crisis. Belittling the suicidal ideation by saying chill out is going to cause the opposite effect. I know it's not personal but there is a problem with the system.

 

[enough of this]

I used a crisis line a few times. Was unhelpful to me personally.

I called one once. Very unhelpful. Very unprofessional. It was as if they had pulled in some guy from under a bridge and stuck him behind a telephone. I felt more suicidal after talking with him than before.

 

[asylum246]

Yeah, usually goes like this:
-Hello, please help me, I'm suicidal.
•Ok, I'll connect you with someone.
*cool music*
-Hello, please help.
•Do you have anything around you to harm yourself?
-Well actually, I ha-
•Lock it in closet.
-What?
•Lock it in closet.
*Locks it in closet*
•Ok, your problem is solved, if you feel more urges, just lock yourself in asylum because you are crazy.

So, no. They're not helpful at all.

 

[sometimes.sometimes]

I called them a couple of weeks ago, but they hung up. I don't think they did it intentionally, more than likely there was an error with the phone line or something like that. I didn't bother to call them again because after that happened, I already calmed myself down and I didn't want my family to know I called them.

 

[Professor K]

I once went through a bad panic attack and called a suicide hotline found on google and I started to talk to an old woman:
*Hello?
-...(i couldn't speak i was terrified)
-...hello...?
then nothing for like 20 seconds
*Are you okay? Can you hear me?
I hung up.
Then, on my first attempt, I was on the bridge and I had written two numbers on a piece of paper, tried to call and none of them worked lol.

*cool music*

Oh yeah the music, I forgot to mention the loooooonnnnnng waiting with this silly music too, haha

 

[mouseteacup]

I've used them a few times. Only through chat, though — I have a really hard time speaking aloud, especially to strangers, especially when I'm having a crisis. Some instant message–based ones (like the ones that go through using your phone number on the default message app) were quicker to respond, but I never got through on websites. Some of them seemed kind, but it wasn't very helpful for me in terms of being able to calm down at all.

 

[Arachnid_Antichrist]

like phoned the Samaritans or anything? Did it help or dissuade you in any way? Got to admit I used a text helpline once or twice with different experiences - one conversation was really useful, understood, probably stopped me doing something spontaneous that I hadn't thought through properly, couple of others were very pro lifey and not worth the time.

No I haven't. I've been too nervous. I really struggle to verbally talk to people and opening up to a stranger on a phone when all they can hear is my disgusting voice and nothing else really disturbs me.

 

[iDieUDie80]

Many times and in different formats. You can call them, some have an online chat option, and you can also text certain numbers.

All different experiences, even if you use the same service. Depends on the person. Some just go through standard boring questions, some will actually talk to you about the problem you're facing, sometimes the calls are long, sometimes they're more brief. Once, I was texting the national US crisis line and the person was repeating what I was saying, but getting everything totally wrong and not understanding me, so I STOPped the conversation after I already said I would kill myself that night. They sent police. But that was the only time that ever happened.

So your experiences will vary. They can be good for talking you out of a crisis. Remember, you don't have to be suicidal to reach out, or even be having thoughts of self-harm, if you just feel overwhelmed and above a 5 it's totally fine to call or text as well. Even if the call doesn't go well, they can still point you to the more appropriate resources, such as behavioral health resources, as well as inpatient options, and of course while you stay they set you up with outpatient care.

 

[gardenofaphrodite]

I have, it was through text, it was incredibly unhelpful & shitty. They just kept repeating shit I was saying but "I understand you ——" & they constantly ask if you're gonna hurt yourself. I ended up just ending the session, it made things worse for me honestly. I felt even more unheard than I had prior to reaching out.

 

[anhedonicNfoggy]

I have tried crisis textline multiple times. A few times the person actually seemed empathetic. The rest, it felt like they were following a script and just beating around the bush when I ask for advice.

 

[sammiechzxv]

Yes. They don't really help me.

 

[Shatteredhearts824]

Yeah, I've contacted the suicide hotline once and they sent cops out to my place. The suicide prevention hotline only rushes you through to a safety plan. The counselors on the other end really don't give a fuck and just rush you through to a safety plan. Don't get me wrong, it may help some people, but it certainly didn't help me.

I have tried crisis textline multiple times. A few times the person actually seemed empathetic. The rest, it felt like they were following a script and just beating around the bush when I ask for advice.

This is exactly what happened to me when I contacted through the text line. Did they ever end up sending police to your place?

 

[anhedonicNfoggy]

Yeah, I've contacted the suicide hotline once and they sent cops out to my place. The suicide prevention hotline only rushes you through to a safety plan. The counselors on the other end really don't give a fuck and just rush you through to a safety plan. Don't get me wrong, it may help some people, but it certainly didn't help me.

This is exactly what happened to me when I contacted through the text line. Did they ever end up sending police to your place?

Well, I mostly vented. Around that time, I did have suicidal ideation but I never planned on attempting bc I was afraid of surviving with the damage

 

[corgiee]

like phoned the Samaritans or anything? Did it help or dissuade you in any way? Got to admit I used a text helpline once or twice with different experiences - one conversation was really useful, understood, probably stopped me doing something spontaneous that I hadn't thought through properly, couple of others were very pro lifey and not worth the time.

yeah, i have a couple times. in my experience they don't really help much. you fill out a survey, they confirm that you won't CTB while you're texting them and then ask if its okay to write a safety plan. one time they sent me 100 things to do

 

[rougarou]

The phone ones have been significantly more helpful than the chat ones. The chat ones have fully abandoned me before, but calling my local one has been helpful once or twice. But only if I really need to talk.

They have sent someone to check on me before, and they were nice. I generally prefer someone do that rather than calling the cops on me/anyone suicidal. The cops will just throw you in an ambulance and send you to the ward to get rid of you, or just shoot you if you're in a panicked enough state (seems counterintuitive doesn't it?) but the people actually trained to help with crisis (as cops should be if they were worth their weight), they have been kinder and will form a safety plan and treat inpatient as a last resort; especially if you don't have a good, local, dedicated inpatient MH clinic vs a ward in a hospital (never good).

 

[SnarkyPuppy2002]

I've personally used the 741-741 and 988 numbers on numerous occasions but I always text, I've never actually called a crisis helpline and done anything other than wait a few seconds and immediately hang up. They always help provide some short term relief but offer no real long term solutions (however, I don't necessarily think that's the point of them). Definitely recommend those numbers if you can access them.

 

[Odahviing475]

When I was in India, I literally did not have access to them. They either closed after 10pm or were literally not open on Sundays.

I guess depression acts on working hours.

 

[neonzebra]

Yes I've called the Samaritans a few times. I only remember the last call I made a few years back. It was a really nice middle aged lady with a soft voice and she did help me to feel better. She was just very calming.