I need to be honest with you for a minute.
This publication is for nervous-system literacy, framework-based recovery, and slow rebuilding work. It is not built to hold you in an active mental-health crisis. The essays here are designed to be read in the quiet moments — not when you’re standing on the edge of something.
If you are in crisis right now — if you’re thinking about hurting yourself, ending your life, or someone else’s life — I need you to stop reading this and reach out to someone trained to help in that specific moment. Not because I don’t care. Because I care enough to be honest about what this work is and isn’t built for.
Here are the people to reach:
In the United States:
988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Call or text 988. Available 24/7. Free. Confidential. You can call for yourself or for someone else.
Crisis Text Line. Text HOME to 741741. Available 24/7. Free. For when talking on the phone feels like too much.
The Trevor Project (for LGBTQ+ young people under 25). Call 1-866-488-7386 or text START to 678-678. Available 24/7.
Veterans Crisis Line. Call 988 and press 1, text 838255, or chat online at veteranscrisisline.net. Available 24/7.
National Domestic Violence Hotline. Call 1-800-799-7233 or text START to 88788. Available 24/7. If you are not safe in your home.
Outside the United States:
Find a Helpline (international directory). Visit findahelpline.com to find crisis lines specific to your country.
If you are not in immediate crisis but need ongoing support:
Psychology Today therapist directory. psychologytoday.com/us/therapists — search by zip code, insurance, specialty.
Open Path Collective for sliding-scale therapy when cost is a barrier. openpathcollective.org.
A few things I want to name:
You don’t have to be at the worst moment of your life to call. The crisis lines are not just for the moment of imminent harm. If you’re not okay and you don’t know who else to talk to, they are trained to help you figure out what you actually need.
If you’re worried about someone else, you can call too. The lines above will help you figure out how to support someone you’re worried about. You don’t need their permission to seek information.
Reaching out is not weakness or a failure. Your nervous system has been carrying something. Asking for help is the system using its capacity correctly, not failing.
If you’ve been hurting yourself or thinking about it for a while and haven’t told anyone, please tell someone. A therapist. A friend. A crisis line. The shame of saying it out loud lifts fast once you do. Holding it alone is the dangerous part.
This post is permanent. The link to it lives in every email footer on this publication. If you ever need it, it’s here.
If you’re not in crisis but you’re navigating something heavy, that’s exactly what the framework is built for. Read the four foundational essays. Use the language. Take what helps. The work is here for you.
And I’m here too — within the limits of what this work is built for, which I want to be honest about.
— Lauren