988 mental health crisis line gets 5 million calls, texts and chats in first year
If you or someone you know is in crisis, please call, text or chat with the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988, or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741. The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline marks one year of operation on July 16.
When 24-year-old Marie texted 988 last December, she was in the middle of a dissociative episode that left her unable to speak.
"I just remember shaking and being on the floor and not knowing how to get my soul back to my body," Marie says. "All I could feel was fear."
Over the course of an hour, a counselor helped Marie reconnect with her senses in part by encouraging her to take concrete steps like making a cup of hot chocolate and running her hands under warm and cold water.
"She was able to kind of pull me back into myself," Marie says. (NPR agreed to use Marie's middle name only because her mental health challenges are related to a past abusive relationship.)
Marie's experience is one of about 5 million calls, chats and texts fielded by the new, 3-digit national crisis line in its first year of operation. Federal officials say that's up 35% compared to the old 10-digit line.
Last July, the cumbersome 10-digit National Suicide Prevention Lifeline became 988. The easy-to-remember lifeline was created to help people dealing with issues like depression, substance use and suicidal ideation get immediate help and be guided to additional resources. At the one-year mark, there's some success to report: Texts to the lifeline increased dramatically and average wait times across the line plummeted from 2 minutes 39 seconds to 41 seconds.