A life-altering situation is an event that is strong enough to upend long-held routines and can positively or negatively impact an individual’s quality of life. Examples include a death of a family member, marriage, relationship issues, and in more extreme cases, can include natural catastrophes or intense personal losses.

Crisis intervention is an immediate acute intervention after a life-altering situation. This intervention type is focused on reducing the initial distress caused by the event to foster adaptive functioning and coping. Magellan Federal supports Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) responders with onsite stress counselors to provide crisis intervention and support to FEMA employees so they can provide critical disaster response to areas in need. We have been supporting FEMA’s disaster response teams for more than 20 years.

We believe crisis intervention is critical to resilience and recovery due to the immediate intervention after a life-altering situation. Immediate intervention can help someone cope with the initial reactions of fear, worry, powerlessness, and/or hopelessness afterward. Here are some tips for normalizing and addressing these needs to improve long-term recovery.

How to Provide Assistance

It is hard to know exactly when and what to say to support someone who has experienced a life-altering situation. In our experience, it is best to reach out and offer assistance early, when the individual is most vulnerable. Here are a few steps that can help to facilitate crisis intervention:

1. Connect with them on the human level. Focus on listening with compassion and being present for the person while validating their experience and acknowledging their feelings.
2. Determine if their basic needs are being met. This includes food, water, shelter, clothing, and safety. Assess their immediate needs and connect them to available resources. Addressing immediate basic needs is a way to improve quality of life quickly while providing steps towards recovery.
3. Help them to identify additional needs they may have. Connect them with practical resources once their initial basic needs are cared for.
4. Connect them with available support resources. This can include family, friends, neighbors, and community helping resources.

How to Cope with a Crisis and Move Forward

Validate and Acknowledge Your Feelings

It is completely natural to feel overwhelmed after undergoing a life-altering event. Common reactions after a crisis can include strong emotions, numbing, and worry. It’s important to acknowledge and validate that these feelings may come and go in waves and are normal in short durations. Also, remind yourself that these feelings are an expected part of the acceptance and healing process. Identify strategies used in the past to cope, and determine if they would be helpful now.

Break Tasks Down into Smaller Actions

Recovering from a life-altering situation may feel overwhelming and insurmountable to some. The stress from a life-altering situation can affect cognitive and problem-solving abilities, and a survivor may need assistance with making appointments and completing paperwork. It’s crucial in those times to break down needs into smaller action steps. This will lead to small measures of success and increase confidence in coping.

Connect with Social Support

Social support includes reaching out to others in the community such as family, friends, or neighbors for help. It may feel challenging at first due to embarrassment, worrying about burdening others, doubting if support is available, and being too overwhelmed, but connecting with others can accelerate the healing process by normalizing a shared experience and decreasing isolation.

Practice Deep Breathing Exercises

Take time out of the day to practice calming exercises such as deep breathing. Controlling our breath allows our nervous system to regulate and emerge from a fight, flight, or freeze reaction. A simple exercise can be to inhale slowly through your nose and comfortably fill your lungs all the way down to your stomach. Exhale slowly through your mouth and comfortably empty your lungs. You can repeat this five times slowly and as many times a day as needed.

Develop a Structured Routine

Try to develop a structured routine to help with decision-making. This new routine may differ vastly from your previous routine based on new values post-life-altering situations.

Focus on Getting Adequate Sleep

If possible, try to get to sleep at the same time daily. Don’t drink caffeinated beverages in the evening, reduce alcohol consumption, increase daytime exercises, relax before bedtime, and limit naps to 15 minutes, not after 4 p.m. Giving your body and mind adequate time to rest will help fuel positive processing skills and emotional responses the following day.

Limit or Eliminate Alcohol Consumption

Substance use can lead to problems with sleep, relationships, jobs, and physical health.

Know When to Ask for Additional Help

If stress reactions persist over four to six weeks or worsen and impair functioning, it’s a sign to ask for additional help from a community counselor or therapist. It’s important to note that crisis intervention is not therapy. Therapy can help make a diagnosis and can be a long-term commitment with one identified provider with treatment-specific goals.

Acknowledging the Emotional Effects of a Crisis

Whether you were directly involved in the crisis or not, it is normal to experience waves of emotions after a life-altering event. Often, the structure, schedule, and routine in your life have been destroyed, and you are unsure where to start. It’s OK to feel powerlessness, overwhelmed, and even angry. At that moment, it may feel embarrassing or burdensome to ask for help. You are not alone. Know that there are people that can and want to help and getting help early is critical to being one step closer to recovery.

Additional Resources

• The Disaster Distress Helpline: https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/disaster-distress-helpline
• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: https://988lifeline.org/
• Red Cross Disaster Relief: https://www.redcross.org/about-us/our-work/disaster-relief.html
• FEMA assistance after a Disaster: https://www.fema.gov/assistance
• FEMA disaster preparedness: https://www.ready.gov/

According to Gallup®, 70% of the population is struggling or suffering, and 70% of employees are not engaging at work. Investing in wellbeing at work is critical to the success of your employees and organization.

The impact of wellbeing extends far beyond how employees feel — it affects the number of sick days they take, their job performance, burnout levels, retention rates and the organization’s bottom line.

We will dive into these issues in this blog post, and you can learn by listening to the webinar recording: “eMbrace the link between employee engagement and wellbeing.”  Click here to access the recording.

Organizations should care about wellbeing

Contrary to what many believe, wellbeing is not just about being happy or physically fit. Wellbeing encompasses all aspects of our lives:  how our lives are going, feeling good about our thoughts life experiences and what is important to us.

Poor wellbeing affects employees and organizations:

• 75% of medical costs accrued are due to largely preventable conditions.
• $20 million of additional lost opportunity for every 10,000 workers due to struggling or suffering employees.
• $322 billion of turnover and lost productivity costs globally due to employee burnout.

 In contrast, employees with high wellbeing are more resilient during widespread or personal tough times, less likely to have unplanned days out of the office and more engaged than those with low wellbeing.

Traditional EAPs are not enough

Traditional Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) fall short because they average about 5% engagement and focus mainly on distressed employees. Low utilization and a reactive model leave a large gap to fill to meet the wellbeing needs of all employees. Organizations need a proactive program that benefits all employees.

Learn more in the webinar recording.

Building a thriving culture of wellbeing

Leaders that bring engagement and wellbeing together create a high-performance environment where the two inform and build on one another. Magellan Healthcare and Gallup® collaborated to create eMbrace, a fully integrated, evidence-based solution delivering improved employee wellbeing and engagement across six key areas of their lives: Emotional, Career, Social, Financial, Physical and Community.

Through eMbrace, employees and organizations can measure their wellbeing and discover where they are suffering, struggling, and thriving. Employees receive a personalized plan that guides them to services and resources to help them improve their total wellbeing and lead thriving lives.

Resources:

• https://www.gallup.com/workplace/215924/well-being.aspx
• https://www.gallup.com/workplace/320297/invest-employees-wellbeing-afford-not.aspx
• https://www.gallup.com/workplace/358082/struggling-suffering-employees-twice-likely-leave.aspx

The destruction left by Hurricane Ian back in September serves as a reminder that times of crisis can often occur quickly with little or no warning. During these events, parents may be coping with children who feel increased worry and anxiousness. Parents and professionals can help by providing guidance on how to develop an at-home safety plan for times of crisis. Supplying children with the knowledge of what to do if an emergency occurs can reduce feelings of anxiety and provide them with a better sense of control in an uncontrollable situation. Below is guidance that our Military and Family Life counselors share with parents.

Emergency Plan Directions

• Designate a general meeting place. Establish an agreed-upon safe place to meet if a parent will be unable to pick the child up from school or will not be at home. This could be a neighbor’s house or community meeting space. Children should be reassured that the adult they are with is aware of the plan, and the parent will meet them at the arranged meeting location.
• Create an emergency backpack. The backpack should have items the child may need in the event of a crisis, specifically, items necessary if an adult was unavailable at the time of the crisis.
• Compile a list of all emergency phone numbers. These numbers should be programmed into a child’s phone, if they have one, written down at home, and placed in the emergency backpack.
• Create a social media plan. Social media sites can be very effective in times of crisis. Discuss what social media site(s) will be used for family communication and information if cell service is down.
• Develop plans for the natural disasters most likely to occur in your area. These plans could include backup locations to go in case the family must leave their home, such as a relative’s house, a community shelter, or another designated safe place.

For even more tips on preparing an emergency plan, refer to the “Make a plan” section of  Ready.gov.

Crisis Conversation Tips for Parents

In addition to creating an emergency plan for their home, parents will also need to discuss crises and other traumatic events, such as natural disasters, with their children. It can be difficult to know how to approach those topics or what to say that will be helpful. Below are tips for engaging in these conversations (Psychology Today, 7.26.22).

• Keep words and language child-friendly and age appropriate.
• Initiate the conversation in a calm manner.
• Leave time for the child to ask questions and remain silent during their questions or requests for clarification.
• Ask if they have any worries about a particular situation.
• For even more tips on preparing an emergency plan, refer to the “Make a plan” section of ready.gov.

Creating an emergency plan and having open communication about this topic can benefit both the child and adult and may reduce feelings of anxiety in the child.

Tips for parents and professionals

To be sure, Covid-19 changed a lot of things. One of which was doubling the average amount of screen time for American adolescents[1].

• Pre Pandemic: 3.8 hour per day
• Current: 7.70 hours per day

It is important that parents, teachers, counselors, and others who live and work with children and youth become familiar with the ever-changing digital landscape to provide timely guidance and support. The following information and downloadable tip sheet will give you a good foundation to get started.

Influence and Information

To understand the degree of influence of digital media on children, we must first understand the speed and scope of peer-to-peer information sharing in the digital age. Due to use of algorithms built to share information on a global scale instantly, it is often difficult to immediately curb the spread of misinformation and propaganda on the platforms. Algorithms are digital code built to recognize engaging content and then deliver that content to audiences to generate higher views. The algorithm does not distinguish positive or negative types of viral content. As content can be seen by adolescents and parents or professionals in the same general time frame, this provides the ability to prepare an appropriate response.

What it means to “Go Viral”

When a piece of content becomes widely shared, is referenced in other content, and begins to influence the social structure of its intended audience, the content is considered to have “gone viral.”

To give you an idea of how quickly content can reach worldwide audiences, here are the viral rates for Tiktok:

• > 500 views in the first .25/hr
• > 10k views in the first 4/hr
• > 250k views in the first 24/hr
• > 1 million views in the 48/hr

Empowering Viral Content[2]

Not all viral content is bad. Some viral content empowers adolescents to be the change they wish to see in the world. It’s important to understand that viral content can be positive and widely influential. Positive examples of viral content include:

• Student-led peaceful protests—In the spring of this year, high school students from Boston, Chicago, and other cities across the Northeast organized peaceful walkouts to protest the unsafe in person learning conditions amidst rising regional Covid cases. These students passionately demonstrated for the safety of their teachers and classmates to demand access to virtual learning. This was an excellent example of our youth being the young leaders of tomorrow.
• Neighborhood cleanups—Throughout 2020 lockdowns, a viral trend showcased individuals standing in front of an area with litter and trash visible. Dancing along with a selected audio, the creator would stitch a transition using choreography to a new scene where the area had been cleaned and the garbage bagged. These videos slowly became more dramatic over the summer as creators became more competitive, however the end goal was always environmental cleanup.
• “Show Your Talent” Challenge—The “Show Your Talent” challenge of 2021 featured an original creator issuing a challenge to others to “Show Your Talent”. This video garnered significant positive feedback and resulted in people of all ages showing talents.

Destructive Viral Content[3]

Viral content can also be destructive and damaging, influencing individuals to engage in behaviors that result in the loss of life, property, or safety. Examples include:

• “Silhouette” Challenge—The “Silhouette” challenge involves individuals dancing provocatively, often using a filter to showcase a millisecond long video of the individual either nude or barely clothed, viewed through a lens such a “Heat Filter”. This portrays a lewd image under the guise of it being safe due to the filter. However, these videos can be downloaded and the filter removed through the use of apps, allowing that content to be recirculated showing the real, unfiltered video.
• “Morning-after-pill” Challenge—The “Morning-after-pill” Challenge resulted from adolescents opening the plastic device used for a pregnancy test. Inside this plastic device is a silica tablet, meant to absorb moisture and maintain the validity of the test. Adolescents mistakenly thought this tablet was a free Plan B pill and ingested the tablet. This misinformation spread quickly, resulting in such a negative impact that manufacturers of the pregnancy tests released public statements educating the public about the silica tablets.
• “Devious Lick” Challenge—The “Devious Lick” Challenge started as individuals being dared to lick disgusting surfaces, such as the bottom of a sneaker, a toilet seat, or the bathroom door handle. However, this trend quickly escalated to damage of property, with multiple schools reporting damage. Damage included sinks being torn from walls, toilets broken, mirrors broken, and soap dispensers stolen.
• “Who Want Smoke” Challenge—The “Who Want Smoke” challenge hit our local schools the hardest. In November of 2021, a viral trend began using a specific audio on TikTok referencing gun violence. The image provided is taken from the viral video showing Clarksville students coming around a corner pretending to be holding a firearm aimed at the camera. Over 50 students were suspended for participating in this trend.

These types of viral content provide misinformation which can be harmful or dangerous.

Benefits to Consider

It is critical to practice the language of the digital age on a daily basis. Linguistics is evolving at an unprecedented rate. This may create opportunities to connect with children and adolescents that were not previously available. Other benefits include:

For the Professional:

• Becoming more familiar with ever-changing digital landscape
• Understanding the evolving linguistics of the digital age child
• Faster and stronger rapport building

For the Child/Adolescent:

• Providing opportunity for discussion on current trends and topics
• Creating an environment for authentic growth and self-reflection
• Establishing a sense of trust and safety

Due to using this best practice, Magellan Federal counselors at Fort Campbell were aware of the “Who Want Smoke” trend prior to its arrival to local schools. This allowed the opportunity to have preemptive support for adolescents. Through this support, adolescents were able to have authentic conversations about the trend, its meaning, and how it could impact them.

Sites to Search

To stay on top of digital trends, we recommend actively searching the following media channels:

• Local news source
• Facebook
• Other social media platforms
• Tiktok
• Reddit
• Twitter
• Instagram

Pro Tip: Ask the adolescents where they spend their time online. Populations will differ by region and age group. It never hurts to ask!

Article originally published on MFed Inform. Visit to download free tip sheet.

[1]   Nagata JM, Cortez CA, Cattle CJ, et al. Screen Time Use Among US Adolescents During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Findings From the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study. JAMA Pediatr. 2022;176(1):94–96. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2021.4334

[2]   Alfonseca, Kiara. Jan 14 2022. Students walk out over COVID-19 in-person learning conditions in schools. https://abcnews.go.com/US/students-walk-covid-19-person-learning-conditions-schools/story?id=82265171

[3]   Quinlan, Keely. Nov 23, 2021. Over 50 students suspended for viral TikTok video at West Creek High in Clarksville. https://clarksvillenow.com/local/over-50-students-suspended-for-viral-tiktok-video-at-west-creek-high-in-clarksville/

Millions of people are affected by mental health conditions each year. Unfortunately, more than half of them either delay seeking treatment or do not get help at all due to the associated stigma. Stigma causes people to feel ashamed, be concerned about being treated differently, or fear the loss of their livelihood due to something that is out of their control.

Mental health stigma is among the factors contributing to Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) being less likely than White people to receive treatment.[1] In 2020, 5.7% of Asian Americans, 9.4% of Black people or African Americans, and 10.7% of Hispanic or Latinx people received mental health services, compared to 21% of White people.[2]

What you can do

With compassion and support, people can recover and lead happier, healthier lives. Treatment is available and recovery is possible. But overcoming stigma is a critical first step in the process.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) offers some suggestions about what we can do as individuals to help reduce the stigma of mental illness:

1. Talk openly about mental health—and discuss it no differently than physical health.
2. Show compassion for those with mental health challenges.
3. Be conscious of language—remind people that words matter.
4. Educate yourself and others—respond to misperceptions or negative comments by sharing facts and experiences.
5. Encourage equality between physical and mental illness—draw comparisons to how they would treat someone with cancer or diabetes.
6. Be honest about treatment—normalize mental health treatment, just like other healthcare treatment.
7. Let the media know when they are presenting stories of mental illness in a stigmatizing way.

Additional mental health support and resources for BIPOC

On July 20 Magellan Healthcare hosted a webinar, “Navigating mental healthcare: Unique challenges faced by the BIPOC community,” for BIPOC Mental Health Awareness Month. Watch a recording of the webinar as we explore different roles in behavioral healthcare and overcoming stigma to help BIPOC feel more knowledgeable and comfortable about reaching out for help: https://www.magellanhealthcare.com/event/navigating-mental-healthcare/.

Visit Magellanhealthcare.com/BIPOC-MH for more information and resources covering racism, stigma and more for BIPOC mental health.

[1] “Mental Health Disparities: Diverse Populations” American Psychiatric Association

[2] 2020 SAMHSA National Survey of Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) Adult Mental Health Tables

A theme for September’s Recovery Month is “Recovery is for Everyone.” It sounds nice, but is it really true? We’re all impacted by mental health and substance use conditions in some way, whether we live with them or know someone who does. But with 74 million adults and 5 million adolescents in America living with a mental health or substance use condition,[1] is recovery really for everyone?

Where do you stand?

Do you think recovery is possible for a person given a diagnosis of schizophrenia? Is recovery possible for someone in active heroin addiction?

If you think recovery is possible for them, do you expect recovery for them?

Think about it for a minute.

Recovery for me

I am a person in recovery. At the beginning of my journey, I was a teenager with a bright future ahead of me who had been given a mental health diagnosis. It was easy for others to hold hope for me because my accomplishments were a recent memory. Recovery was possible and expected for me.

Today, I have a successful career, an advanced education, a home, and a deep connection to my community. It’s easy for people to expect recovery for me because I’ve proven it’s possible.

But in the middle of my story is endless years of pain and despair. My teenage accomplishments quickly became overshadowed by more diagnoses, hospitalizations, failed medication trials, and a disability determination. The longer my struggles continued the harder it was for me and the people around me to believe my recovery was possible. An expectation of recovery was replaced with low expectations of my abilities, personal responsibility, and chances for a meaningful life.

The irony is that these low expectations quickly became more distressing for me than any symptom I was experiencing. It was the lack of expectation for recovery in my life that brought the soul-crushing despair that nearly ended my life.

Measuring down

My experience is not isolated. It is common to determine someone’s ability to recover based on internal and external factors and then act accordingly. These factors may include a person’s income, education history, employment, housing, support system, family culture, ethnicity, and geography; the number of times they have been in rehab or failed medication trials; and the number of diagnoses, type of diagnoses, drugs used and number of physical health comorbidities. The list could be endless.

Now let’s go back to the scenarios above and add a few more details:

Do you expect recovery for the man you pass at the bus stop who is experiencing homelessness, who hears voices and who has no education?

What about the woman you see at the park who uses street drugs, whose kids are in foster care and who is unemployed. Do you expect recovery for her?

Recovery for everyone in action

Expecting recovery for everyone requires an unwavering commitment to the belief that recovery is possible for every person, no matter their diagnosis, treatment history, or current and past circumstances. The next step after believing recovery is possible is taking action on that belief through communicating with hopeful, empowering language, encouraging risk-taking in the pursuit of recovery, and focusing on strengths versus perceived deficits.

At the systems level, expecting recovery for everyone means:

• Providing equitable recovery opportunities through services and supports, including beyond traditional treatment delivery systems
• Outreaching to engage Black, Brown, LGBTQ+ and other marginalized communities
• Transforming practices and environments to reflect recovery-oriented principles

If we all believed that recovery was for everyone, it would radically change our communities and service delivery systems for the better. It would send a message of hope and save lives during a time when suicide rates in the U.S. have increased 30% from 2000 to 2020.[2]

Imagine what would change if we believed recovery was for everyone.

Join the conversation

We are pleased to host a free webinar, “What I would tell my younger self: Conversations about hope, recovery and the “S” word,” on Wednesday, September 14, 2022, at 3:00 p.m. ET. Register today to hear our presenters share the advice they would give to their younger selves to better navigate mental health and substance use challenges, and engage in the conversation!

Visit MagellanHealthcare.com/Recovery for resources to use and share this Recovery Month and beyond.

[1] Key Substance Use and Mental Health Indicators in the United States: Results from the 2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health

[2] National Institute of Mental Health, “Suicide” information

Article originally published on MFed Inform.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an increasingly important topic and issue within the U.S. military, across all Services. With thousands of counselors around the globe providing health and wellness care on military installations, Magellan Federal has a wealth of knowledge on PTSD and we would like to raise awareness around the symptoms, causes, and share some of the resources available to those who suffer from it.

Get to Know PTSD

PTSD is a medically diagnosed mental health condition that can develop after experiencing, witnessing, or learning the details of a traumatic event. Common causes include:

• Combat
• Threat of injury or death
• Terrorist attack
• Serious accident
• Sexual assault
• Physical assault
• Natural Disaster
• Childhood sexual or physical abuse

There are four different categories of symptoms that must be present for a diagnosis of PTSD:

1. Intrusions: recurring distressing memories, dreams, or flashbacks
2. Avoidance: staying away from people or places that remind them of the trauma
3. Persistent negative mood or thoughts: inability to experience positive emotions; excessive blame, fear, shame and/or guilt; detachment from others
4. Arousal or reactivity: irritability, hypervigilance, difficulty concentrating, self-destructive behaviors

PTSD became a mental health diagnosis in 1980 with the influence of social movements, such as veteran, feminist, and Holocaust survivor advocacy groups. Research about veterans returning from combat was a critical piece to the creation of the diagnosis. So, the history of what is now known as PTSD often references combat history.[i]

Prevalence in Service Members

According to the Defense Health Agency, between 2016–2020, 93,346 Service members received care for PTSD in the Military Health System and 74,232 of those Service members were diagnosed during or following deployment.[ii]

Available Programs and Resources for Service Members

While individual, trauma-focused psychotherapy is the first line of treatment recommended for PTSD, non-clinical support is also important and available to enable the healing process.

Magellan Federal helps deliver the Defense Health Agency’s Warrior Care Recovery Coordination Program (WC-RCP) to proactively support Recovering Service members (RSMs) who have been wounded, ill, and injured – including those with PTSD – in their recovery and reintegration into military service or transition to civilian life through non-clinical specialized programs and resources that also include support for their families and caregivers. Some of these programs and resources include:

Recovery Coordination Program (RCP): Under this program, available to all branches of service, Recovery Care Coordinators (RCCs) work closely with each Service member to develop a non-medical plan for recovery. Service members who may be suffering from PTSD are eligible to receive the support of an RCC.

RCCs are available at military treatment facilities and installations across the country. You can access assistance through your military services’ wounded, ill, and injured programs including:

• S. Army Recovery Care Program (ARCP)
• S. Navy Wounded Warrior – Safe Harbor (NWW)
• S. Air Force Wounded Warrior Program (AFW2)
• S. Marine Corps Wounded Warrior Regiment (USMC WWR)
• S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) Warrior Care Program
• S. Army Reserve Recovery Coordination Program

Military Caregiver Support: Provides resources and information for military caregivers who assist RSMs with activities of daily living. Since 2013, DoD’s support for military caregivers has positively impacted thousands of lives by addressing key issues that affect caregivers in the short and long term. These issues often include mental and physical health, finances, transportation, maintaining a strong family, navigating through legal issues, and housing. In partnership with the National Resource Directory (NRD), the new electronic Caregiver Resource Directory (e-CRD) is also available. The e-CRD is a live document that is searchable, ready to download, and updated weekly to populate the most current vetted caregiver-specific resources available.

Military Adaptive Sports Program (MASP): This program provides opportunities for all RSMs to participate in adaptive sports and reconditioning activities to improve their physical and mental quality of life throughout the continuum of recovery and transition. MASP is designed to enhance recovery by engaging RSMs early in individualized physical and cognitive activities outside of traditional therapy settings. Through MASP, Service members also have access to the Healing Arts, which support both physical and psychological recovery and rehabilitation from visible and invisible wounds of war including PTSD, traumatic brain injury (TBI), and others.

National Resource Directory (NRD): This website provides access to tens of thousands of vetted services and resources at the federal, state, and local levels that support recovery, rehabilitation, and community integration for Service members, wounded warriors, veterans, and their families/caregivers. There are over 300 resources readily available regarding PTSD, such as:

• PTSD Foundation of America
• Brain Injury Network
• National Center for PTSD
• National Veterans Wellness & Healing Center
• And many more…

When to Ask for Help

Remember, PTSD affects people differently and treatment is not one size fits all. If you think you or someone you know is possibly experiencing signs or symptoms of PTSD, no one has to cope alone. Help is out there in an array of forms from a variety of sources to meet anyone’s unique needs, whether it be clinical, non-clinical, or a combination of both.

To learn more about PTSD, visit https://health.mil/Military-Health-Topics/Total-Force-Fitness/Psychological-Fitness/Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder or https://www.ptsd.va.gov/index.asp.

To learn more about WC-RCP programs and resources, visit https://warriorcare.dodlive.mil/.

[i] Friedman MJ, MD, PhD. Department of Veterans Affairs. PTSD: National Center for PTSD. History of PTSD in Veterans: Civil War to DSM-5. Available online: https://www.ptsd.va.gov/understand/what/history_ptsd.asp

[ii] Defense Health Agency, Military Health System. PTSD 101 Infographic (May 2021). Available online: https://www.health.mil/-/media/Images/MHS/Infographics/June-Toolkit-2021/PTSD-101-Infographic.ashx

The new 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline launched on July 16, 2022. With 988, it’s now easier than ever for anyone experiencing mental health-related distress–whether that is thoughts of suicide, a mental health or substance use crisis, or any other kind of emotional distress–to seek immediate help.

The new 988 dialing code operates through the existing National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (the Lifeline) network of over 200 locally operated and funded crisis centers across the U.S. People can now access a strengthened and expanded Lifeline via 988 or the existing 10-digit number (which will not go away).

In this post, we’ll continue the introduction of the new 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline and provide additional resources for you to learn more and be prepared if you or someone you know experiences a mental health crisis.

What is 988?

Beyond being an easy-to-remember number, 988 provides a direct connection to trained, compassionate and community-based crisis counselors for anyone experiencing mental health-related distress–whether that is thoughts of suicide, a mental health or substance use crisis, or any other kind of emotional distress.

Who can use 988?

988 services are confidential, free and available 24/7/365 for anyone experiencing a mental health, substance use or suicidal crisis. And 988 isn’t just for you. People can also dial 988 if they are worried about a loved one who may need crisis support.

How are 988 services accessed?

The 988-dialing code is available for call (multiple languages) or text (English only), and chat services (English only) can be accessed at 988Lifeline.org. 988 services are available through every landline, cell phone and voice-over-internet device in the U.S.

 How is 988 different from 911?

The focus of 988 is to provide easier access to the Lifeline network and related crisis resources, which are distinct from 911, where the focus is on dispatching Emergency Medical Services, fire and police, as needed.

Why was 988 created and where can I get more information?

Congress designated the new 988 dialing code in 2020 to improve access to crisis services in a way that meets our country’s growing suicide and mental health-related crisis care needs. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is the lead federal agency, along with Vibrant Emotional Health (operational home of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline), in partnership with the Federal Communications Commission and Department of Veterans Affairs, to make 988 a reality in the U.S.

SAMHSA provides comprehensive resources for anyone to learn more about 988, suicide prevention and mental health crisis services at   SAMHSA.gov/988.

Is my state ready for 988?

States are at varying degrees of readiness for the volume increases expected from moving to the 3-digit code, 988. The federal government is responding to resource challenges with unprecedented levels of funding and an all-of-government approach to partner with state and local leaders to improve system capacity and performance.

Find additional information and materials on suicide prevention at MagellanHealthcare.com/Prevent-Suicide, and stay tuned for our September Suicide Prevention Awareness Month campaign and free webinar.

Sign up to receive updates a few times a month from Magellan on free behavioral health resources you can use and share with family, friends and colleagues here.

Sources: SAMHSA and the National Action Alliance for Suicide prevention