For the past year and three months, I have been volunteering on and off as a crisis counselor with the Crisis Text Line. I detailed extensively why I became a crisis counselor and the qualifications I had for the work of online crisis counseling well before the fact, but the work has taken on new meaning since the Coronavirus has changed all of our lives.
I have time to put in service and hours into the Crisis Text Line since the Coronavirus has interrupted all of our lives, so part of my experience of the changes on the platform is simply due to the fact that I can put in more time now that I'm quarantined at home and social distancing. I will admit that since October, I just haven't been able to be on the platform as much. But in March, I have been able to recommit myself to the commitment and volunteer work I signed myself up for.
These past couple days with the anxiety, uncertainty, social distancing and quarantining surrounding COVID-19, I have observed an uptick in people texting in for the obvious reasons. People have more time idle as more time spent alone. However, when I have gone onto the platform, I have gone on the left side of the screen and seen significantly more people online to help, and this trend even comes with more platforms that drive high traffic, like Reddit and Medium, advertising the Crisis Text Line as a service to people under emotional distress during this time.
As an online mental health and crisis support network, fortunately, the demand in texters has met adequate supply in counselors. Life as a Crisis Text Line counselor has been more calm than it previously has been in the times I've logged on. I am used to seeing the queue far beyond 50 people waiting for help, and trying to take on as many conversations as I possibly can. Life as a crisis counselor during Coronavirus is actually more relaxed than it is usually for these reasons.
Recently, however, the fact that so many people have been lining up to help is inspiring. In my own experiences as a counselor, more people have been asking me if I'm an actual human being rather than a robot. Sometimes, my response can seem so scripted, generic, and impersonal. All crisis counselors are trained to use professional language and try to use as close to 160 characters as possible in each response, so part of that training may I have to remind them that I am, that I'm not a robot, and sometimes, I make typos or make more provocative statements to prove that I am an actual human being.
The need for fellow human compassion is essential in these times, even if it doesn't come in traditional, physical form. I, too, haven't spent that much physical time around too many people since the pandemic broke out. But as a crisis counselor, I see that not being around others and isolating is really hard for a lot of people, so although texting isn't as good as talking to someone in person, the benefits are the social distancing that come with preventing the Coronavirus while having someone you can talk to virtually.
Having all hands on deck makes the job easier and more manageable on everyone, and in this global time of need and stress, it's so encouraging to see so many people ready to put in the time to help.
I have also seen the data for the Crisis Text Line used to great effect to best help people's mental health. The issues that are co-presenting with the Coronavirus's outbreak, according to an e-mail the Crisis Text Line sent to all counselors, include school closings, financial issues, and social media issues. Texters are skewer older than normal, with an 11% increase in texters from 18 to 34 years old, and a higher rate of LGBTQ+ texters and low-income texters.
As a counselor, I'm also grateful I can be doing good in my apartment and on my bed. I don't have to go anywhere to drive anywhere to help -- I can do it just through my computer. I assume it's more difficult to see the real effect my conversations have on people since I can't see them and don't communicate with the same texters on a regular basis.
In my own experience, more people have been texting in about anxiety than usual due to COVID-19. My texters have had more suicidal ideation than usual, and also are more stressed about family and not being able to see their friends. Usually, my conversations revolve around depression and self-harm more than anything, but in March, the topic of those conversations has shifted substantially to anxiety and family problems.
In the past, I struggled with self-care while being a crisis counselor. We do something in every conversation called risk assessing, which details a person's thoughts, plans, means, and timeframe of suicide. I have personally taken at least 10 conversations that were labeled "active rescues" where the texter was at imminent risk for suicide, and didn't realize that those conversations also took a significant emotional toll on me. In those times, I would make more mistakes as a counselor because I didn't look after myself, like calling a texter by the wrong name when managing too many conversations. I wouldn't take the time off to make sure I was doing alright, too.
Now, counseling helps me stay connected, too. Staying at home and not leaving my apartment much, I look forward to the time I get to spend on the line because I haven't had contact with too many people either as an effort to social distance. I still take a good break and don't take on too much like I used to, but life as a crisis counselor during the Coronavirus is rewarding because it's a form of online therapy that suits our current situation. Not everyone can go outside and not everyone can go into a therapist's office, and even though the Crisis Text Line does not replace actual professional help, it's a stepping stone for people to reach out and feel that they're not alone in whatever they're going through.