You are not alone
I Need Help
If you need help right now, you are in the right place, and reaching out is a strong and good thing to do. Below are different kinds of help, kept separate on purpose, so you can find the one that fits tonight. If you are in immediate danger, or thinking of harming yourself, please start with the emergency and crisis resources first. They are staffed by trained, caring people, and they are for exactly this.
If you are in immediate danger
If you are in immediate danger, or you may act on thoughts of harming yourself right now, please contact emergency services: in the United States, call 911 (or your local emergency number wherever you are).
If you are thinking about suicide or in crisis (United States)
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, call or text 988. Free, confidential, available 24 hours a day, every day.
Crisis Text Line, text HOME to 741741 to reach a trained crisis counselor by text.
If you are outside the United States, your country likely has its own crisis line. Please reach out to a local service, a hospital, or someone you trust tonight.
Professional mental-health support
If you are struggling with your mental health, anxiety, depression, trauma, grief that will not lift, therapy and medical care are real, effective help, and seeking them is wise, not weak. A doctor, a licensed counselor or therapist, or a trusted clinic can walk with you over time. If you do not know where to start, a crisis line above can also help point you toward local resources.
Spiritual care and professional care are not rivals. They can and often should go together. Praying does not replace treatment, and getting treatment does not mean your faith is failing. A medical condition needs medical care, and needing that care says nothing about the strength of your faith.
Pastoral and community care
Sometimes what you need is a steady human presence: a pastor, chaplain, or a caring community to sit with you and help you carry things over time. If you would like to find people near you, you can look for a local church, many of which offer counseling, support, and simple companionship, with no pressure.
Prayer and spiritual care
If you would like someone to pray with you or for you, you can ask on the Living Bread prayer wall. You can keep your request private, share only what you want, and be prayed for without creating an account. This can sit alongside any of the help above; it is not a substitute for it.
However you reach out tonight, to a crisis line, a doctor, a friend, a pastor, or God, please do reach out. You matter, and you do not have to carry this by yourself.
Frequently asked questions
- I am in crisis right now, what do I do?
- If you are in immediate danger, call 911 (or your local emergency number). If you are thinking about suicide or in crisis in the US, call or text 988, or text HOME to 741741 to reach the Crisis Text Line. These are free, confidential, and available 24 hours a day.
- Can I get spiritual help and professional help at the same time?
- Yes. Spiritual care and professional mental-health care work well together. Prayer does not replace medical treatment, and seeking treatment does not mean your faith is weak. A medical condition deserves medical care.
- Does needing help mean my faith is failing?
- No. Reaching out for help, whether medical, pastoral, or a crisis line, is wise and good. Many people of deep faith need and use professional care. Needing help says nothing bad about you or your faith.