Calls to US helpline jump 891%, as White House is warned of mental health crisis
[link:https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/calls-us-helpline-jump-891-white-house-warned/story?id=70010113|
Empathizing, normalizing people’s feelings, assuring those in a crisis that they aren’t alone. Those are the tools Ferrer is using these days to help comfort patients at the Community Health and Social Services Center in southwest Detroit, where she’s the behavioral health and social work supervisor.
Some patients who were relatively stable before the pandemic are experiencing increased anxiety and depression, Ferrer said. The abrupt halt of enjoyable activities seems to be one factor. More grim are the stories of people with a loved one suffering from COVID-19 alone in a coma, who tell Ferrer they can't get adequate updates from swamped hospital staff.
“A lot of people want an answer. A lot of people want a solution,” she said of her patients' response to the pandemic. “So we really have to bring it back to empathy. I’m going back to those same skills that I used on the crisis line because people are in crisis.”
National hotlines that help people experiencing emotional distress have seen a spike in calls during the pandemic. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration saw an 891% increase in calls to its Disaster Distress Helpline last month compared with March 2019, ABC News reported.
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