Crisis helplines provide free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you’re thinking about suicide, are worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, call or text your local helpline 24/7 (988 in the U.S.; findahelpline.com for other countries). If you’ve never called or texted a crisis helpline before, it can be a little intimidating. What can you expect when you contact a crisis helpline?

I’m lying in bed in my pajamas, day-old makeup under my eyes. My hair is unwashed and unbrushed. There is nothing to eat in the house. I’m running dangerously low on shampoo. Yet I can’t make myself get out of bed, much less go to the store and pick up groceries and the essentials. I convince myself I don’t really need these basic human necessities and go back to bed where I don’t have to face the rest of the world. This is the day I realized I had depression.