We know there are a plethora of threads about COVID-19 already, but we'd like to provide a space specifically for mental health resources and discussion during this time.
We'd like to remind our community to be mindful that everyone reacts differently to stressful situations, and that the specifics of their relation to the outbreak can vary by social and economic factors, previous mental health diagnosis, and more. Many of us are dealing with issues at this scale for the first time in our lives. Please be kind and understanding when interacting with each other.
General Tips
There are many resources, from global to local, on mental health specific to COVID-19 or general to disasters. We have tried to synthesize many of the common themes here, but we encourage you all to look through the Resources section below for more details, country-specific resources, and information on our sources.
General
World Health Organization: Mental Health Considerations
WHO published a list of considerations developed by their Mental Health Department covering guidance for the general population, health care workers, team leaders and managers in health facilities, caretakers of children, caretakers of older adults, and people in isolation.
World Health Organization: Myth Busters
Not specific to mental health, but it might be useful to have a verified, single source for looking at misconceptions instead of trying to wade through search results.
Australia
Lifeline
Includes chat and Non-English speaker lines.
Canada
Anxiety Canada Tips: What to do if you're anxious or worried about coronavirus
Some mental health tips as well as general hygiene tips.
Provincial Mental Health Helplines
Official government sponsored mental health helplines are divided by province.
Ontario: 1-866-531-2600
China
Beijing Suicide Research and Prevention Centre
Suicide écoute
Telefonseelsorge
Servizio per la Prevenzione del Suicidio (SPS)
Iran Organization of Well Being
113Online
List of crisis lines for South Korea:
http://www.suicide.org/hotlines/international/south-korea-suicide-hotlines.html
Spain
Teléfono de la Esperanza
Calm:
United States CDC: Mental Health and Coping
The CDC has a page with general information about mental health and coping during the outbreak.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
Disaster Distress Helpline
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
Another United States organization that provides national support for mental health.
Endorsed by the National Alliance on Mental Illness, this is a 24/7 crisis text hotline with trained volunteers.
Updates
If you have any resources that you feel should be added to this thread, please post them, and we'll add them into this post and/or threadmark them as needed. In particular, we have a need for resources in other languages and that are country-specific. The country list above is not exhaustive: if your country is missing and you would like help finding resources, please feel free to drop a note in this thread. We will do our best to keep this as up to date as possible. Thank you!
Special thanks for The Woods for helping find country specific resources and proofreading!
We'd like to remind our community to be mindful that everyone reacts differently to stressful situations, and that the specifics of their relation to the outbreak can vary by social and economic factors, previous mental health diagnosis, and more. Many of us are dealing with issues at this scale for the first time in our lives. Please be kind and understanding when interacting with each other.
General Tips
There are many resources, from global to local, on mental health specific to COVID-19 or general to disasters. We have tried to synthesize many of the common themes here, but we encourage you all to look through the Resources section below for more details, country-specific resources, and information on our sources.
- Avoiding Excessive Exposure to Media Coverage. While it is important to keep up to date with the facts, information overload can cause anxiety and distress. If you find that consuming a lot of media about COVID-19 is making you anxious or distressed, consider the following steps.
- Try to seek information updates once or twice a day at specific times.
- Use verified and official sources to minimize exposure to incorrect, often fear-inducing rumors.
- Consider disabling or limiting news alerts on your phone.
- Another option is asking a family member or friend to give you updates so that you yourself don't have to check the media.
- For ResetEra, you can use our hide thread feature, or even consider using @JeTmAn's Hide Forums Scriptthat uses keywords. He very helpfully already posted some regular expressions for this purpose.
-
- Stay connected to your social networks including family and friends. We don't mean online social networks (although they can certainly be a helpful tool!). Many of us have had our usual offline social interaction routines disrupted by the move to remote work and education, cancelation of social gatherings, limited travel, etc. Try to create a routine for staying connected with others via channels like social media, video chats, etc.
- Don't be afraid to tell others that you need a break from the discussion. If you feel uncomfortable explicitly asking others to drop or change the subject, you can try other methods. Don't initiate the subject or try changing it if it does come up. Remove yourself from the discussion if you feel uncomfortable. For this thread in particular, we'd like to be mindful that other participants might be taking a much needed break and might take longer to respond to direct replies. Let others have the discussion at their own pace, engaging as much or as little as makes them comfortable.
- Try adding these relaxation methods to your daily routine. These can be done at home, with no equipment needed.
- Controlled breathing
- Meditation
- Yoga
General
World Health Organization: Mental Health Considerations
WHO published a list of considerations developed by their Mental Health Department covering guidance for the general population, health care workers, team leaders and managers in health facilities, caretakers of children, caretakers of older adults, and people in isolation.
World Health Organization: Myth Busters
Not specific to mental health, but it might be useful to have a verified, single source for looking at misconceptions instead of trying to wade through search results.
Australia
Lifeline
- Phone: 13 11 14
- Chat: https://www.lifeline.org.au/get-help/online-services/crisis-chat
- Lifeline Text: 0477 13 11 14
- 6pm - 12am
- 7 days a week
Includes chat and Non-English speaker lines.
Canada
Anxiety Canada Tips: What to do if you're anxious or worried about coronavirus
Some mental health tips as well as general hygiene tips.
Provincial Mental Health Helplines
Official government sponsored mental health helplines are divided by province.
Ontario: 1-866-531-2600
- Toll-free
- 24/7
- Phone call or online chat options
- Multi-lingual
- Toll-free
- 24/7
- Phone call
- 24/7
- Phone call
China
Beijing Suicide Research and Prevention Centre
- Landlines: 800-810-1117
- Mobile and VoIP: 010-8295-1332
- 021-6279-8990
- 10am to 10pm daily
- Phone: 020-81899120
- Phone: 020-12320-5
- QQ Messenger: 1661042151
- 24/7
Suicide écoute
- Phone: 01 45 39 40 00
- 24 hour
- Volunteers
- Phone: 09 72 39 40 50
- Email and online chat options
- Volunteers
- Phone: 800 858 858
- Anonymous
- Free
- Volunteers
Telefonseelsorge
- Phone: 0800 111 0 111
- 24 hour
Servizio per la Prevenzione del Suicidio (SPS)
- Dial 112
- 9:30 to 4:30pm Monday to Friday
- Phone: 800 86 00 22
- Phone: 0 677 20 89 77
- 1 pm to 10 pm daily
- Phone: 199284284
- 10am to 12am daily
Iran Organization of Well Being
- Dial 1480
- 6am to 9pm daily
113Online
- Phone: 0900 0113
- Webchat: https://www.113.nl/ik-denk-aan-zelfmoord/crisislijn.
List of crisis lines for South Korea:
http://www.suicide.org/hotlines/international/south-korea-suicide-hotlines.html
Spain
Teléfono de la Esperanza
- Phone: 717 003 717
- 24/7
Calm:
- Nationwide Phone: 0800 58 58 58
- London Phone: 0808 802 58 58
- Webchat: https://www.thecalmzone.net/help/get-help/
- Text service only
- HELP to 85258
- 24/7
United States CDC: Mental Health and Coping
The CDC has a page with general information about mental health and coping during the outbreak.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
Disaster Distress Helpline
- General: 1-800-985-5990
- Puerto Rico: 1-797-339-2663
- Deaf and Hard of Hearing: 1-800-846-8517
- Text: Text TalkWithUs to 66746.
- 24/7, 365-days-a-year
- Multilingual
- Toll-free
- Confidential
- No need to give identifying information
- Can offer referrals to local crisis call centers
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
Another United States organization that provides national support for mental health.
- NAMI HelpLine: 1-800-950-6264
- Monday - Friday, 10 am - 6 pm EST
- Can help refer you to local NAMI Support Groups
- Not a hotline, crisis line, or suicide prevention line. The focus is on providing information and resource referrals.
Endorsed by the National Alliance on Mental Illness, this is a 24/7 crisis text hotline with trained volunteers.
Updates
If you have any resources that you feel should be added to this thread, please post them, and we'll add them into this post and/or threadmark them as needed. In particular, we have a need for resources in other languages and that are country-specific. The country list above is not exhaustive: if your country is missing and you would like help finding resources, please feel free to drop a note in this thread. We will do our best to keep this as up to date as possible. Thank you!
Special thanks for The Woods for helping find country specific resources and proofreading!
Last edited: