It’s Sunday again! And you know what that means. Another sermon from #ordained Reverend Me. Enjoy.
Over the summer I began volunteering as a crisis counselor at a suicide hotline. (Yeah, that’s right, I serve my community. As an #ordained reverend, it’s important that I walk the walk, not just talk the talk.) I’ve learned a lot so far, but there is one huge thing that I feel compelled to share:
Surprisingly… YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE SUICIDAL TO CALL A SUICIDE HOTLINE.
Yes, the word suicide is in the name, but literally anyone can call (or text) at literally any time (24/7) for literally any reason they need emotional support. We assess for suicide risk at the beginning of each call, but the vast majority of callers we receive are low risk to no risk. Some callers are simply feeling stressed-out, depressed, or lonely. Others may be experiencing a panic attack and want help calming down. There are also people who feel guilty about some secret thing they did, and they want to get that weight off their chest. (Essentially a non-religious confessional.)
It can be a powerful thing to have someone really listen to you and validate your emotions. Unfortunately, therapy can be expensive, and people in our day-to-day lives can sometimes make things worse. Friends and family can be judgmental or take things personally. Co-workers might tell you to “just look on the bright side.” Your significant other might immediately want to focus on fixing things, or try to make a case for why you shouldn’t be feeling the way you do.
(I used to be REALLY bad at this. One time in high school my newly-drivers-licensed girlfriend got a speeding ticket, and she was super upset and crying about it. She was looking to me to help her feel better. I remember saying something like: “You know, you really shouldn’t be sad about this. There are children starving in Africa. So in comparison, this is really not a big deal.” I remember her thinking about this for a few seconds, as I basked in the impressiveness of my airtight logic. She replied, “…that makes me feel even worse. For MANY reasons.” Fortunately, learning from years and years of life experiences like these — not to mention several weeks of training and mentorship for the suicide hotline —have improved my emotional support skills.)
If you EVER feel like you need to talk to someone, Google “suicide hotline” and then call (or text) one of the numbers that pops up. There are national and local versions. Whoever picks up is gonna be really nice to you, and will genuinely care about what you are going through, no matter what it is. If you’re worried that someone standing on a ledge somewhere is gonna get a busy signal because you’re taking their spot, that won’t happen. All calls are answered, and high risk callers are given immediate priority. The worst thing that would happen is you’d be asked to call back in twenty minutes.
I also want to make sure I don’t oversell this here. We’re mostly all just volunteers (well-trained, though!), and calls are only between 10-15 minutes. But it might be worth a try.
For a few years before he passed away my dad (pictured here) suffered from severe anxiety. He could barely sleep and would often have panic attacks in the middle of the night. Sometimes he would compulsively ask Alexa over and over what time it was, waiting for an appropriate time to start calling people so he could get out of his own head. My dad would’ve never been categorized as suicidal, though, so it would’ve never occurred to me to be like “Hey, Dad, if you need someone to talk to at 4am (and don’t want to wake Mom up again) here’s a phone number that you can call every single night if you need to.” I really, really wish I’d known then that this was a resource for anyone, and that’s why I’m sharing all this now. You or someone you know might benefit from it. Who knows, my dad was pretty old-school and might’ve felt too proud or whatever to call a suicide hotline after all. But trust me, no one should feel that way.
~Rev. Matthew R Houchin #Ordained Minister
