People In Need Will Be Able To Text New Suicide Prevention Hotline
The FCC voted to include text messaging into the technology driving the 988 number which will arrive next year. The long wait to see a therapist, covid-related surges in helpline calls, pandemic-era mental health of Black Americans and more are also reported.
The Hill:
New Suicide Prevention Hotline To Include Texting Option
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to include a texting option for a new suicide hotline, 988, set to go live next summer. Advocates have pushed for a more accessible version of the existing 1-800-273-8255, and now providers will be required to support messaging to the number beginning July 16, ABC News reported. Currently, the three-digit number is set up only to support calls. “The bottom line is that it shouldn't matter if you make a voice call or send a text message because we should connect people in crisis to the resources they need no matter how they communicate," FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said during an open meeting, per CNN. (Barnes, 11/18)
Bloomberg:
Americans Can Soon Text 988 To Reach National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
Americans will be able to text 988 to access the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, a move seeking to broaden support for at-risk communities, such as youth and people with disabilities. The Federal Communications Commission approved the move Thursday, the agency said in a statement. In 2020, almost 46,000 people in the U.S. died by suicide, provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show, as the pandemic weighed on mental health. (Sirtori-Cortina, 11/18)
CIDRAP:
Amid COVID, A 35% Surge In Calls To Mental Health Helplines
An analysis of 8 million mental health helpline calls from 19 countries early in the pandemic reveals a 35% jump in calls related to fear and loneliness rather than to problems with relationships, finances, domestic violence, and suicidal thoughts that dominated before COVID-19 emerged. The study, published yesterday in Nature, suggests that concerns related directly to the pandemic replaced, rather than aggravated, common underlying anxieties, the researchers said. The study team, led by researchers from the University of Lausanne in Switzerland, said they used helpline call data because they provide a real-time picture of the state of public mental health, unaffected by the design and framing of a study. (VanBeusekom, 11/18)
WUSF Public Media:
The Pandemic Strained Mental Health For Black Americans. It’s Also Amplifying Calls For Change
Vickye, 52, has Lupus, so like many people at risk for severe COVID-19, the St. Petersburg resident spent most of last year at home. She avoided getting sick, but quarantining took a toll in ways she said she couldn’t have imagined. "You were trapped with yourself, you couldn't go anywhere, so you had to face yourself and face your demons and whoever you were trapped with their demons too," she said. Vickye was trapped with an abusive wife, which is why we're not using her last name. Verbal assaults turned physical, until this past February, when Vickye said her now ex-wife shot her six times for threatening to leave. (Colombini, 11/18)
Axios:
Fear And Loneliness Caused Surge Of Early Pandemic Calls For Help
Fear and loneliness replaced relationship and livelihood concerns during the pandemic, a team of scientists said after looking at millions of helpline calls in multiple countries before and after the COVID-19 pandemic started. Doctors and policymakers are trying to assess the impact of quarantines, school closures and other public health measures on our emotional and mental well-being. Using helpline data could become an important assessment tool, the researchers said. (O'Reilly, 11/18)
NPR:
Americans Can Wait Many Weeks to See a Therapist. California Law Aims to Fix That.
When Greta Christina fell into a deep depression five years ago, she called up her therapist in San Francisco — someone she'd had a great connection with when she needed therapy in the past. And she was delighted to find out that he was now "in network" with her insurance company, meaning she wouldn't have to pay out of pocket anymore to see him. But her excitement was short-lived. Over time, Christina's appointments with the therapist went from every two weeks, to every four weeks, to every five or six. (11/18)
On suicides on campus —
KHN:
What Happens After A Campus Suicide Is A Form Of Prevention, Too
Ethan Phillips was 13 years old when he first heard the term “suicide contagion.” It’s the scientific concept that after one person dies by suicide, others in the community may be at higher risk. Phillips learned the phrase growing up in Fairfax County, Virginia, where more than a dozen teens and preteens died by suicide while he was in middle school. It came up again when a high school classmate killed himself. By the time Phillips entered college at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in 2019, he’d developed “an unfortunate level of experience” in dealing with the topic, he said. (Pattani, 11/19)
