988 IS LIFELINE IN A MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS

Suicidal ideation is on the rise nationwide, especially among teenagers and college-age students. Post COVID, adolescents are struggling to handle a variety of situations and have limited coping skills to help them through the challenges. One of the biggest challenges is loneliness.

What can lead an adolescent to believe life is no longer worth living? Suicide is rarely caused by a single circumstance or event. Instead, a range of factors can increase risk. Some of those include:

Perception that you are a burden to others
Isolation
Hopelessness
Increases in anxiety or depressed mood
Substance use
Access to lethal means
History of previous attempts
Loss of a valued relationship, especially if the loss is due to suicide
Relationships that are high in conflict or low in support
Anticipation of harsh punishment, loss of status, or physical or mental deterioration
Stigma associated with mental health and seeing help for emotional distress

Here are some startling statistics regarding mental health/suicide. Approximately 20% of the entire U.S. population has been diagnosed with a diagnosable mental health illness. In 2021, 10% of students in grades 9-12 reported they made at least one suicide attempt in the past 12 months. Forty-five percent of LGBTQ+ youth reported seriously considering attempting suicide in the past year. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for people between the ages of 10 and 24. If you, or someone you know, is having suicidal thoughts or experiencing a crisis, help is available 24/7 by calling/texting 988

What is 988?

The 988 lifeline was established to improve both accessibility of crisis services and to meet the nation’s growing suicide and mental health-related crisis care needs. The 988 Lifeline provides easier access to mental health crisis care through a 200+ network of crisis call, text and chat centers, separate from the public safety purposes of 911.

What happens when I call 988?

When you call 988, you first hear a greeting message that presents you with several options. The 988 Lifeline has specially trained counselors for Veterans (through the Veterans Crisis Line, operated by the Veteran’s Administration), Spanish speakers and LGBTQI+ youth and young adults. Your call is then routed to one of the national networks or a local 988 Lifeline network crisis center based on your selections and your phone’s area code.

A trained crisis counselor answers the phone, listens to you, works to understand how your problem is affecting you, provides support and shares resources if needed. If your local crisis center cannot take your call, you are automatically routed to a national backup crisis center. All these services are available in English and Spanish. The 988 Lifeline uses Language Line Solutions to provide translation to callers in more than 240 additional languages.

What happens if I text 988?

When you text 988, a trained counselor listens to you, works to understand how your problem is affecting you, provides support and shares resources that may be helpful. Texting is available in both English and Spanish. When texting 988 in Spanish, you will be asked to type “Ayuda” to connect with a Spanish-speaking counselor. Veterans and service members who text 988 will be redirected to text 838255 to reach the Veterans Crisis Line, which is managed by the Veterans Administration. You will also be given an option to connect with an LGBTQI+-trained counselor. Text service is currently expanding so that an increasing number of texts are routing to local 988 Lifeline network crisis centers based on a texter’s area code.

What happens when I chat via 988?

Chat is available in both English and Spanish through the Lifeline’s website at 988lifeline.org/chat and linea988.org/chat. People seeking chat services are provided with a pre-chat survey before connecting with a counselor, who identifies the main area of concern. If there is a wait to chat with a crisis counselor, a wait-time message will appear. If demand is high, people are encouraged to look at the 988 Lifeline’s “helpful resources” while waiting. Once you are connected, a crisis counselor listens to you, works to understand how your problem is affecting you, provides support and shares resources that may be helpful. Chat service is currently expanding so that an increasing number of chats are routed to local 988 Lifeline network crisis centers based on the information that you choose to supply in the pre-chat survey.

Does reaching out to 988 help?

Yes, this lifeline works. Numerous studies have shown Lifeline callers are significantly more likely to feel less depressed, less suicidal, less overwhelmed and more hopeful after speaking to a Lifeline crisis counselor. 988 Lifeline counselors are trained to help reduce the intensity of a situation for the person seeking help and connect them to additional local resources, as needed, to support their well-being. About 98% of people who reach out to the 988 Lifeline are helped by a crisis counselor, resource shared or community connections are made.

Will I be hospitalized if I contact the 988 Lifeline?

Lifeline counselors strive to provide care and assistance in the least restrictive environment while also maintaining the safety of the individual. Most people who call, text, or chat with Lifeline counselors are able to be helped without needing to be hospitalized.

Is 988 Lifeline a free service?

Individuals who call 988 Lifeline are not required to provide any payment or insurance information to receive support, however, standard data rates from telecommunications mobile carriers may apply to those who text 988 Lifeline.

How long will I wait before talking to a counselor?

The 988 Lifeline is located in more than 200 local and state-run crisis centers. The counselors will listen, support, assess your situation, share resources and make community connections. Average wait times can vary based on usage surge and other factors. Once you have completed the greeting, the wait time is within a minute.

Does everyone have the same access to services provided by 988?

Yes, anyone located in a U.S. state, territory or tribal land with access to telephone, cellular or internet services can connect to a trained counselor by calling, chatting or texting 988.

C&A’s Care Pathway programs works with adolescents who are experiencing suicide ideation. If this is a non-emergency but you think your child is struggling with self-harm, please call 330.433.6075.

Information for this blog post was provided by SAMSA and the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. C&A’s Trauma Led Specialist Mary Kreitz, who has more than 20 years experience in the mental health field, contributed to this article.

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SEASONAL AFFECTIVE DISORDER

By Mary M. Kreitz • November 21, 2024

For many people changes in the seasons also bring changes in mood, energy, sleep, weight and appetite. Some researchers have found that as many as 90% of people report noticing these types of changes in themselves. However, for some people, the changes are so intense that they interfere with the person’s ability to function in their daily life. Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD is a type of clinical depression that occurs with a consistent seasonal pattern. The symptoms of SAD are the same as those for other depressive disorders; what is different is that the symptoms begin every year around the same time, last for several months, and then go away for the rest of the year. The most common form of SAD is what is known as winter-pattern SAD in which depressive symptoms start in the fall or early winter and end in the spring. Another less common form is known as summer-pattern SAD and is associated with depressive symptoms that occur during the spring and summer months and improve in the fall.

ELECTION ANXIETY

By Mary M. Kreitz • November 6, 2024

The 2024 election has brought a lot of fear and stress into the lives of people throughout the country. A recent survey by the American Psychological Association found that 77% of adults in the US are worried about the future of the nation, 73% reported feeling stressed out about the economy and 69% reported feeling stressed about the presidential election. When adults are feeling this high of a level of stress, you can bet that children and adolescents are feeling it too.

TRUSTED ADULT

By Daniel Mucci • October 1, 2024

Are you a trusted adult to your child or someone’s child in your life? What are the characteristics of a trusted adult? Trusted adults are viewed by children or adolescents as a safe figure that listens without judgment, agenda or expectation, but with the sole purpose of supporting and encouraging positivity within a young person’s life. Today’s youth identify a trusted adult as someone who is willing to listen and engage, rather than lecture and give orders. Young adults are interested in having open conversations about mental health, social media, bullying and sharing their own experiences.

LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE

By Daniel Mucci • September 9, 2024

Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health’s (C&A) The Canton Repository Let Your Light Shine presented by the Massillon Eagles FOE #190 is Sept. 21 at the DoubleTree by Hilton, Canton, from 6-9 p.m. The 19th annual event supports the youth mental health programs and services C&A provides each year to our 4,100 clients.

WHY PRIDE MATTERS FROM A BEHAVIORAL HEALTH PERSPECTIVE

By Mary M. Kreitz • June 18, 2024

You have probably heard the scary statistics. LGBTQ+ youth are at higher risk for serious mental health problems (such as anxiety and depression) than their non-LGBTQ+ peers. They’re more likely to consider suicide, more likely to attempt suicide and more likely to engage in non-suicidal self-harm.

HOPE AND HOPELESSNESS

By Dr. Robert Willoughby • June 4, 2024

Hope and hopelessness play a large role in the phenomenon of suicide and depression including that of children and adolescents (Liu, et al., 2021). On the positive side I am always reminded of the use of hope to overcome hopelessness in stories reminiscent of a hero’s journey. Stories, where in the face of insurmountable odds, one digs in deep to find themselves, their own hope, and the hope of others joining together to help whilst overcoming trials and tribulations (Campbell, 2011).

STARK COUNTY SCHOOLS MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS

By Dan Mucci • April 16, 2024

The sixth annual Stark County Schools Mental Health Awareness Week is May 6-10 Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health (C&A), CommQuest Services and Pathway Caring for Children will partner to bring positive mental health awareness to more than 53,000 students and 7,000 support and administrative staff in all 18 Stark County School districts.

UNDERSTANDING RACE IN SOCIETY AND THERAPY: CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS’ EXPERIENCES

By Chris Alpert • November 16, 2023

In the film, I’m Not Racist… Am I? as introduced and explored in first of this three-part blog post series, the participants engaged in multiple workshops that address race and racism. Interpersonally, the group of students grapple with their own differences and similarities, which impact the content and emotions they share with each other. There are several moments in the film that demonstrate the clear differences in the participants’ understanding of race. In the first workshop, the students were exposed to the idea that all white people are inherently racist seeing as American society was founded on principles meant to support white people (see more on structural racism here, here, and here for further understanding). Several white students in the film became emotional during that workshop. Most students remained quiet. Following this workshop, a black student and a white student were filmed independently of each other in their own homes and discussed the workshop and what they learned with their families. The white student discussed the differences between structural racism and bigotry with her mother and struggled to identify with the principles taught in the training. The black student stated to his mother how almost everything spoken in that workshop applied to him. The student further discussed his feelings by stating how overt racism is and yet how “subliminal” it is at the same time. How can something be so in your face and yet under your feet simultaneously? I immediately reflected on the dialectic of something being so clear and yet so vague. The film continued to grapple with student differences. At the beginning of the film, one white male student discussed with his mother how he feels that all individuals, if they apply themselves wholeheartedly, have the same chance of success regardless of their skin, gender, sexuality or other demographic factors. As a white man myself, I must confess that when I was in high school, I had the same mindset. How could it be different? Especially when I was reading mythic bootstrap literature in high school classes. Sure, the harder you work the more you deserve, but that statement does not work for all Americans. I had not accounted for racial factors that inhibit the growth of others, not to mention socio-economic factors, nationalities, citizenship status, gender and age. I continued to reflect on these statements and connected them to my experience in high school in New York City. In the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement responding to the murder of George Floyd, multiple private progressive schools in New York, including the one I went to, suffered scrutiny from students and alumni who identify as black, indigenous people of color (BIPOC). Multiple Instagram accounts surfaced with the handle “BLACK AT [school name].” I read the posts in 2020, and again before writing this post, and remembered feeling horrified knowing these acts of racism, bigotry and microaggressions happened all around me. This was subliminal to me, yet overt to others.

UNDERSTANDING RACE IN SOCIETY AND THERAPY

By Chris Alpert • November 1, 2023

When I first came to Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health (C&A), I was unsure what to expect regarding race and diversity at both the organization and in Ohio. Having grown up in Harlem in New York City and attended graduate school in San Diego, CA, I had heard stereotypes about Ohio, specifically that Ohio was a very white state. At C&A during orientation, we discussed the role of first impressions for clients and discussed how the front desk staff are considered, “the directors of first impressions.” I loved this term. After orientation, I wondered, why we didn’t discuss demographic factors such as race and gender? We generally pick those up upon first impressions and have implicit biases and judgements in those first impressions. It was odd to me that we did not discuss these demographic factors. As the summer and fall progressed, I noticed that there were few discussions about race as it impacts C&A and the kids and families we serve. I noticed the number of white staff at C&A and reflected on my own privilege as a white man who can easily avoid the discussion of race because I do not suffer discrimination on an individual or systemic level. I reflected on my first experiences discussing race in high school. When I was in high school at the Calhoun School, my father received a grant to create a film and workshops that addressed race and racism seen through the eyes of high schoolers in New York City. My dad had completed a training hosted by the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond. This training opened my father’s eyes to his own white privilege and motivated him to teach kids, specifically white kids, about their privilege earlier in life. I first saw the film, I’m Not Racist… Am I? (see more here ), toward the end of high school after it had come out in 2014.