# Crisis hot lines **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 22, 2014, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crisis-hot-lines/684309 "2014-03-22T19:47:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Eliphalet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eliphalet/32/9563_2.png) [@Eliphalet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eliphalet)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crisis-hot-lines/684309/21 "2014-03-24T18:32:47Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > What do these services gain from taking calls and turning callers over to the police? Or whatever it is you think they do. > > Are they just massive phising centers for getting the phone numbers of depressed people so drug reps can call them later and get them to Talk To Your Doctor About Happyex? Their primary role is a first contact and immediate triage to emotional crises. It’s a non-judgmental person who can help get you through the sometimes overwhelming issues, and put you in contact with help, whether that’s the police for some cases, a counselor, or other assistance. My EAP offers battered person shelter contacts, financial counselors, and some medical advice (Nurseline). I used mine once, when I found out that my favorite cousin, the always funny and successful one, committed suicide. That pushed me enough to talk through my issues with a counselor for several weeks, until we both agreed that I was through the shock and trauma, and could deal with it. There were no police involved in my case, and no medications. I wasn’t interested, and my counselor never tried to offer them. Eli ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crisis-hot-lines/684309/22 "2014-03-24T19:07:51Z")
> [@Eliphalet](#): > > Their primary role is a first contact and immediate triage to emotional crises. It’s a non-judgmental person who can help get you through the sometimes overwhelming issues, and put you in contact with help, whether that’s the police for some cases, a counselor, or other assistance. My EAP offers battered person shelter contacts, financial counselors, and some medical advice (Nurseline). > > I used mine once, when I found out that my favorite cousin, the always funny and successful one, committed suicide. That pushed me enough to talk through my issues with a counselor for several weeks, until we both agreed that I was through the shock and trauma, and could deal with it. > > There were no police involved in my case, and no medications. I wasn’t interested, and my counselor never tried to offer them. > > Eli I was asking **buddah\_david** , who seems to think there is an ulterior motive to the call centers, rather than just helping people. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crisis-hot-lines/684309/23 "2014-03-24T19:28:22Z")
> [@sandysue44](#): > > When I filed a complaint against the counselor he asked me if I wanted to do myself any harm. I said “No but even if I did I wouldn’t tell you that because you would use it against me.” For future reference, if a crisis worker asks, “are you thinking of harming yourself?” and you reply, “No, but I might be lying” - you have no one to blame but yourself if the crisis worker decides better safe than sorry. It’s not that the crisis worker is untrustworthy. **The lesson is, other people can’t read your mind**. They don’t know if you’re serious or just playing coy. It’s unreasonable for you to hint at things and then get angry when other people guess wrong. That’s a lesson that mentally ill people need to internalize even though it doesn’t come easy for us. ---
**Author:** ![Tethered\_Kite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@Tethered\_Kite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tethered_Kite)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crisis-hot-lines/684309/24 "2014-03-24T21:13:26Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I was asking **buddah\_david** , who seems to think there is an ulterior motive to the call centers, rather than just helping people. Yeah, well. I get that a lot of people (especially those who haven’t fully accepted their condition and people who aren’t educated about mental health) can view a trip to the psych ward as a punishment. And wouldn’t it help some if police weren’t the ones who did the accompanying? Sometimes they have little training in how to proceed. Although it’s getting better and some of them are very good. And, face it, the hospitals aren’t always the most comforting nor pleasant places to try to get stabilized what with all the crazy people there. And the patients, too. But they are vastly superior to what we had only a hundred years ago. And while I joke, mental illness is a dangerous business both for the sufferer and his family and friends. So people who have been educated tend to take it with the most solemn seriousness. People who are new to life-threatening emotional distress sometimes don’t realize how precarious their condition is. And some people never get over the denial. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crisis-hot-lines/684309.md?page=1)