Introduction
There is no shame in needing help.
Life is difficult. Life is also worth living.
It is okay to not be okay. You deserve help.
To make the search for help easier here is a short list of options.
If you feel like this site is missing a resource, feel free to email me at servicesimprovements(at)dysphoric.dev or file an issue/ create a pull request on
GitHub.
Help resources
Phone hotlines
Sometimes you need to hear the voice of another human being to tell you that life will get better again.
Suicide prevention hotlines are usually free to call with volunteers who will listen to you.
If you think these could help you the
search page on suicide.org
can be used to find a list of hotlines available where you live.
In times of mental crysis, it is usually not a good idea to call the police.
Police officers are not (well) trained to handle these situations and they can make things worse.
If someone you know is having suicidal thoughts and you want to help them, do not call the cops without their consent.
Therapy
Many people require therapy and/ or medication to deal with their mental health issues.
There is absolutely no shame in that either.
While therapy may not be able to help you immediately finding a professional who will help you is still a good idea. WebMD has
an article
detailing different kinds of therapy and how to find them.
Social media
General social media is another thing that can both help and make things worse.
Especially social media sites made by large corporations are built to maximize time their users spend on them by exploiting the way our minds work.
That does not mean that all social media is bad.
Mastodon is (simplified) a federated social network where anyone can set up a server and talk to others.
It is built to look and feel similar to Twitter but the timeline is chronological and you will only be shown posts by people you follow.
Joinmastodon.org can help you find an instance with like-minded people to talk to.
Just note that not every instance listed there is well moderated. Take a look at the instance's public timeline to see if you want to join.
Memes
Memes can be both life saving and life threatening.
For many, they are a valuable tool to talk about their feelings.
However, they can also lead to spiralling and many meme sites are also used by right wing extremists to find vulnerable people to recruit.
These extremists try to make people feel companionship while also subtily making them feel worse to make manipulation easier.
Therefore, it is important that meme sites used as a mental health resource are chosen carefully.
The
wholesome memes subreddit
is a well moderated space that is focussed on sharing happy content.
It has helped me personally a lot before.