I Might Need Help

Everybody has bad days. But if it ever gets so bad that you feel like you can’t cope and keep going, you may need to get some help.

Reach out to one of the resources below to chat or text with someone who is trained and knows how to help you. Then talk to an adult in your life who you trust. Let them know that you are not ok, and want to take some steps to feel better.

If you are in crisis, or just want to talk with someone right away, reach out to these resources anonymously:

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: Call/Text 988 to talk to a skilled, trained crisis worker.

• Go to https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/chat/ to chat online with a crisis counselor, who will listen to you, understand how your problem is affecting you, provide support, and share resources that may be helpful
• No matter what problems you’re dealing with, whether or not you’re thinking about suicide, if you need someone to lean on for emotional support, call the Lifeline.

Call 988 to talk with a trained, local professional on the phone

• This number rings at Frontline Services, a local organization that works to prevent suicide, resolve behavioral health crises, and overcome trauma in Northeast Ohio.

Text 988: the crisis text line is available 24/7

• Free, 24/7 support for those in crisis—lets you text with a trained crisis counselor.

Even if you’re not in crisis, it’s really important to have people you talk with about how you’re thinking and feeling. Whether you’re managing an ongoing mental illness, have experienced a hardship like the death of a loved one (or pet), divorce or trauma, or are just feeling really stressed, overwhelmed, or sad, no matter how hard it feels to initiate conversation about mental health, talking with someone you trust will help. Here are some ideas of who you could talk to and how they can help:

School Counselor

• a school counselor, guidance counselor, or school psychologist can be really helpful when going through a tough time. Here are some of the things they can do:
• Short-term counseling—they can talk to you about how you’ve been feeling, and help you come up with a plan to get back on track.
• Referral to outside services—they can connect you with people and places that can get you specialized help.
• Advocacy—they can help represent you and support you with your teachers and family members if you’re having trouble at school.

Psychologist, Therapist, Social Worker

• These people are examples of someone outside your school who can provide therapy, support and coping skills.
• A psychologist can be a great person to talk to to help diagnose and resolve issues causing emotional and behavioral difficulties.

A parent, family member, coach, pastor

• These people are great examples of adults you might identify when you ask yourself: Who is one adult in my life that I can trust?
• While these people might not be professionals equipped to deal with mental health challenges, odds are they have some life experience that make them helpful to have around when going through a tough time.
• Having a trusted adult in your life is a big protective factor, which is something that helps buffer and reduce the likelihood of suicide. 
• Some of the common protective factors are: having supportive family and/or friends, connection to community, learning skills to manage problem solving and conflict resolution and coping with acute stress, easy access to medical and mental health care, hope for the future, identifing future goals, spiritual wellbeing and beliefs discouraging suicide, limiting access to lethal means (especially firearms).

Interested in learning about mental health, depression, coping skills, treatment options, and more? Check out our resources for students!