Mental Health Backpack – Day 4
Ways to ask for help
If you are struggling with your mental health, don’t hesitate to reach out for help. All information and resources below are free and confidential.
Hotlines/Text Lines/Chat Lines
The National Suicide Prevention Hotline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals. You don’t need to be actively contemplating suicide to call this number – you can call it if you have a friend in need, if you are starting to have dark thoughts, or just need some support. Provides support in English and Spanish.
Crisis Text Line: If you are more comfortable texting, Crisis Text Line serves anyone, in any type of crisis, providing access to free, 24/7 support via text.
Not OK App: It can be hard to reach out to people to tell them you need help. The NotOK app allows you to pre-select up to 5 contacts, and when you press a button in the app, it will text those contacts with your location and a message that says “Hey, I’m not OK. Please call me, text me, or come find me.”
Asian LifeNet Hotline: A suicide prevention hotline providing services in Cantonese, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean and Fujianese.
National Domestic Violence Hotline: You can call, text, or chat online if you are a survivor of domestic abuse or are concerned about a family member or friend.
SafeLink – a Massachusetts 24/7 domestic violence hotline/resource for anybody affected by domestic or dating violence: Responders are bilingual in English and Spanish and have access to translation services in over 130 languages. There are also options for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline: Call, text, or chat online. If you are being hurt, know someone who might be hurting, or are afraid you might hurt someone else, you can call, text, or live chat this Hotline.
Knowing when to talk to an adult you trust or ask for help
It is important to know when to ask for help. It is better to ask earlier, before you are in an emergency situation. Asking for help does not mean you are weak.
Think about an adult you trust who you can ask for help if you need it, like a parent or guardian, aunt or uncle, grandparent, or older sibling or cousin. You can also ask your doctor, your teacher, or a school counselor for help.
Here is some advice for how and when to ask for help.
This post is part of our Mental Health Backpack series. A special thank you to our interns Malinda J. McPherson and Kristina Vo for their contributions to this project.