What Happens When You Text a Mental Health Crisis Line?

Hi loves!

How are you all? It’s a bit sunnier today up North, so naturally I’m feeling fab. What’s the weather like where you are? I hope it’s nice and sunny for you guys too! 🙂

So, today I’m going to talk you guys through what happens when you text (or ring) a mental health crisis team. I’ve rang a crisis team twice with my experiences being quite different, despite being around 10 minutes apart. That being said, I don’t remember very much of the phone call as I was very distressed and, well, in crisis.. Thankfully, I’ve also text a crisis line which is obviously much easier to remember as I can just read the texts back!

Firstly, the person at the other end of the phone greeted me and asked what it was that was bothering me. Of course this will be different for every individual, so my only advice is to be as honest as possible. They can’t help you unless you are transparent about what you need help with. They proceeded to ask if I felt comfortable sharing my name, which I did (you don’t have to though! You can stay completely anonymous if you wish), before talking through my issues with me in that moment. I was feeling very distressed, lost and agitated, so they helped me to feel a little more in control by sending me links to breathing exercises and apps to monitor my moods out for the coming few weeks.

The technique this particular crisis worker used with me is ‘mindfulness’. This can be hard when you’re feeling particularly agitated, but it can work if you really put your mind to it. It’s a way to acknowledge the thoughts and feelings we have in that moment, but to let them pass by us without holding onto them and letting them weigh us down. The worker then proceeded to send me some apps and make sure I was safe in that moment, which I was as I had calmed down by this point.

That’s about it really. Yep, very anti-climactic. Quite frankly, crisis workers aren’t a permanent solution to your problems, but they can be there to listen when you’re feeling low and need to anonymously let someone know how you’re feeling. It’s all confidential unless you are a danger to yourself or others. The worker even called me an inspiration at the end of the conversation, which was cute! Their job is basically to talk through things with you until you’re in a more calm state. As the name states, they’re there for people who are in crisis.

Have you ever had an experience with a crisis line/team? How did you find it? I know people have had mixed experiences, good and bad. One of my phone calls was a bad experience, but that’s another story for another blog post!

Lots of love,

Soph. xx