Crisis Text Line is a free, 24/7 counseling service for anyone in the United States. It can be accessed by texting HOME to 741741.
This study uses large-scale conversations from Crisis Text Line to explore distinct classes of texters reporting suicidality based on their presenting psychosocial issues. The findings vary by frequency of hotline use and conversation subsamples.
What is Crisis Text Line?
Crisis Text Line is the largest free, 24/7 support service offering mental health assistance via text. Its trained Crisis Counselors help people in distress navigate the complex web of life’s challenges. This includes a wide range of issues like anxiety, depression, eating disorders, self-harm and thoughts of suicide.
The organization has engaged in more than 8 million conversations since its launch in August 2013, and its de-identified, aggregated data shows that the service is reaching communities of all ages, genders, races, and income levels across the United States. It’s important to note that the organization is not intended to be a replacement for professional care.
Its prior data-sharing partnership illuminates larger ethical questions about the privacy of individuals using text-based mental health services. Psych Central reports that it’s difficult for those in distress to carefully read terms and conditions in the moment of need, especially when they’re trying to avoid the risk of suicide or self-harm.
How do I reach a Crisis Counselor?
Anyone in a mental health or substance use crisis can contact 988, also known as the “988 Lifeline”—the easy-to-remember phone number that connects you to a trained specialist at one of more than 200 state and local crisis centers nationwide. These counselors will listen, support, and assess your situation. They will also provide information and resources, and help you make community connections.
The volunteer crisis counselors that operate these hotlines are highly skilled, caring individuals who have been trained to communicate with you person-to-person, validate your feelings, and work to de-escalate the situation. They will only alert emergency services if they believe that you are at risk of harming yourself or others.
They have a proven track record of success, and nearly half of suicidal texters experience an immediate reduction in suicide thoughts after their conversation with a counselor. All conversations are free and confidential, and they’re available 24/7. You can reach them via call or text, or by visiting their website.
What happens during a conversation?
While our conversations may seem mundane, they have a powerful impact on the brain. They trigger hormonal and neurotransmitter changes that affect our physiology for years to come. Conversations can push buttons in our emotional brain, opening us up to trusting, empowering relationships or closing us down to defensiveness and distrust.
To have a healthy conversation, it is helpful to set goals for the interaction before it happens. Then it’s possible to identify whether those goals are in line with your own values or not.
Conversation goals like filling time and telling a story can be easily pair up in a conversation, but other goals that are farther apart—such as apologizing and assigning blame or persuading and avoiding awkwardness—may be more difficult to pursue simultaneously.
Fortunately, nearly all texters report less suicidal symptoms at the end of their conversation with CTL, similar to Lifeline crisis chat outcomes (Gould, Chowdhury, and Pisani, 2022). However, it’s important to note that even after their conversations, many people still experience lingering mental health symptoms and need additional help.
What can I do after a conversation?
It’s common to feel overwhelmed after a difficult conversation. While there is no one-size fits all approach to recovery, here are some tips to help you move forward.
Be conscious of your body language. Checking your phone or constantly glancing around the room can be cues that you are checked out of the conversation. It’s also important to read the non-verbal cues of the person you are talking to. If they are clenching their jaw, rolling their eyes or staring off into the distance, it might be time to end the conversation.
Try to keep the conversation going until it reaches its neutral zone. Post suggests asking questions about the other person’s weekend plans, local news or a shared hobby. It can be helpful to prepare a list of potential anecdotes or topics ahead of time, she says. This will reduce anxiety when the conversation starts to lag.