Mental Health Resources

Last month Fafa from Fafa's Book Corner invited me to do a guest post for Mental Health Awareness month. As you may or may not know, I used to work as a mental health nurse and I now volunteer for a crisis hotline, so I was totally down for writing something.

But the post took on a life of its own and grew in size to where I almost thought it was going to need to be multiple posts. (Why does everything I write end up twice as long as I plan for??) Long story short, we finally wrangled my words under control but by then it was too late to get the post formatted and ready to go in May. C'est la vie. I'm not too fussed about being "late" because if you ask me every month should be Mental Health Awareness month.

Click here to read my post about things you can do if you're worried that someone is considering suicide. In addition to the guest post, I decided to do a secondary post of resources here on my dusty old blog ;) They include information about suicide, but also places where you can find support for a variety of things you or someone you know might be struggling with.

Okay, here we go. Most of these are going to be American-based, but a lot of other countries should have similar hotlines and resource pages. Here's a list of worldwide suicide hotlines.

First of all, if you or someone you know is currently suicidal and in imminent danger, you should consider calling 911 (or your country's equivalent) or heading to a local emergency department. If you aren't ready or able to take one of those steps, your next best option would be to reach out to a a crisis hotline, a primary care physician, or a trusted friend/family member who can provide support and assist in locating additional resources.

SPECIALIZED HOTLINES
Here are a few phone hotlines that might be helpful to you or someone you love. Click the link to go to the website to learn more about services offered. I included the Spanish Suicide Hotline because I know it's best to speak directly to someone who is fluent in your language, but the rest of these crisis lines should have interpreter services for most languages, including support for the deaf and hard of hearing.

National Suicide Prevention and Crisis Lifeline: 988

National Spanish Suicide Hotline. 1-888-628-9454

National Disaster Distress/Coronavirus Helpline. 1-800-985-5990

National Domestic Violence Hotline. 1-800-799 SAFE

National Sexual Assault Hotline. 1-800-656-HOPE

1 in 6: chatline for boys and men who have been sexually assaulted (via 1in6.org)

The Trevor Project (for LGBT+). 1-866-488-7386

Trans Lifeline. US: 877-565-8860. Canada: 877-330-6366

Veteran's Crisis Line. 1-800-273-8255 (press 1)

Drug and Alcohol Helpline. 1-800-662-HELP

National Parent Helpline. 1-855-427-2736

Additional hotlines and resources for marginalized groups can be found here.

SUPPORT GROUPS
There are free support groups for almost every issue you can imagine. Many of these groups hold both in-person and online meetings. I didn't realize until I started taking Addiction Counseling classes that you could go to AA meetings online. I also didn't realize there were several alternatives to AA for people who don't feel comfortable with the spiritual or twelve-step structure of AA, like cognitive behavioral based SMART Recovery or Buddhist-inspired Refuge Recovery. Whether you want to talk to other people about addiction, eating disorders, depression, anxiety, aging, illness, career dissatisfaction, etc. I can almost guarantee there's a group for you. And if there's not a group, think about starting one. Chances are you're not the only one in your area who could benefit. Psychology Today is a great place to start looking. Click the arrow next to "therapists" and select "support groups" from the drop-down menu. The left sidebar has a  list big of options. NAMI also runs support groups in many communities which are generally free.


THERAPIST SEARCHES
How do you know if you need a therapist? If you're even thinking you might, your next step should be to visit either your primary care doctor or to make an appointment with a counselor or therapist for an assessment. One thing I cannot stress enough: you do not need to have serious, life-threatening mental illness to qualify for and benefit from therapy. Let a trained professional tell you, "I honestly think you're fine and might get more from a support group or just making an appointment if a crisis comes up." (Two therapists have told me this after a couple months of sessions. I assure you if they don't think you can further benefit from therapy they will not ask you to keep coming).

Here are a couple places you can look for counselors and therapists online. I recommend Psychology Today a lot because it's easy to search by city or zip code and you can also find out who takes what insurance or sees low-income clients via sliding scale fees, etc. You can also search for psychiatrists, support groups, and treatment centers.

Psychology Today
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
National Alliance on Mental Illness

SUBSTANCE USE
If you're looking for a medical provider or treatment program to help with addiction or substance use disorders, the U.S. government's Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration page has a great search function.

Here's a link to LGBTQIA+ affirming drug treatment facilities.

MORE RESOURCES

Here's a guide on mental health conditions from Drug Watch.

Struggling with anxiety? Here's a ton of information of causes, symptoms, and treatments.

Here's a round-up of digital mental health resources for a variety of populations and conditions.


Do you have any great resources for people struggling with mental health or substance use issues? Share them in the comments and feel free to share hotline numbers and links for different countries as well.

WIN-WIN-WIN: Get Signed Books and Help an Indie Bookstore Help Kids

So my heart broke a little bit when I found out my beloved St. Louis indie, Left Bank Books was closing its downtown St. Louis store. Teen Specialist, Sarah, assured me this was a business decision involving an issue with the lease and that the company is still going strong. There are talks of expanding the flagship (45 years selling books!) Central West End store or possibly opening up a second location elsewhere in the city.

This is the Central West End store in my old neighborhood, still going strong!

The people from Left Banks Books have always been fantastic to me. They had me sign tons of stock, invited me to do events with them, ran a pre-order contest for my first book (writing as Fiona Paul), and got me on a panel at STL ComicCon, even though Venom is the least ComicCon-ish book ever. Did you know it was always my dream to go to a ComicCon? I'm happy my first CC experience was with Left Bank in St. Louis. It made me less nervous to know I was among friends. All of my events with LBB were more fun than scary, because I knew they had my back. No one there ever made me feel like I wasn't important because I wasn't a mega bestseller.

And they make their customers feel important too. I know this personally, but if you don't, you can see it reflected in their reviews on yelp, among other places.

I don't live in St. Louis anymore, but when I needed a location for a St. Louis event for the forthcoming Mighty Mississippi Book Blast tour that I set up with my friend Philip Siegel (more on that in May), Left Bank Books was only too happy to accommodate us.

And when I needed a store who was willing to offer signed, personalized copies of my books, once again Left Banks Books said they'd be happy to help me out.

So, as a way to pay back some of this kindness, I am going to donate a dollar (up to a max of $5000) to the Left Bank Books foundation for every signed copy of my books ordered before July 4th, 2014. The LBB foundation works to increase literacy in St. Louis. In their own words: The Foundation’s primary program is River City Readers, a project to bring books and authors to St. Louis Public School students. We intend to expand these efforts and expand the definition of literacy itself.

It'r true that ordering from Left Bank means paying an additional dollar for a paperback or a few dollars more for a hardcover compared to the cheapest internet deal. But you'll get a signed (and personalized, if you like!) copy of one of my books and a bookmark for The Art of Lainey, featuring the iconic St. Louis Arch. You'll also be supporting an indie bookstore, the lovely bookish people who work there, and the 2012 BEA Bookstore Cat of the Year.

Spike sez: Dear human. Support me, or else.

I have personally snuggled Spike (well, he's not much of a snuggler, but he put up with me stalking him and picking him up on repeated occasions) and can vouch for his awesomeness. He's so awesome he gets to do his own staff picks.

And since your purchase means a dollar toward the foundation, you can think of that "extra dollar" you're spending as also helping get books into the hands of kids who need them. That's what I call a WIN-WIN-WIN situation. Unfortunately, this incentive has to be limited to US buyers because international mailing would be prohibitively expensive and complicated for the store. But if you are an international reader and you donate any amount of money to the Left Bank Books Foundation via their website, I will send you a signed bookplate and bookmark.

The only catch: Because I don't live in St. Louis anymore, I won't be available to sign your books until early July when I return to visit my friends and fam. So, if you support Left Bank Books and literacy in St. Louis by buying from this link between now and July 4th, you will not receive your purchases until July. But hey, your TBR pile is probably huge. You don't mind waiting, if it's for a good cause, do you? :-) Be sure to note in the special instructions if you want your book personalized to you or someone else. They make great gifts *wink* :-D

Thank you for reading. Thank you for thinking about supporting indie bookstores, their staff, and their awesome bookstore cats.

Ten Ways to Support Your Fave Authors for Free

I've had a couple people come up to me and basically apologize for getting Venom or Belladonna from the library, as if maybe they're not really a fan of the books since they didn't buy them. Truth time: The only books I bought recently were those released by close author friends or those bought at signings. This year was really hard for me financially, and I also knew I was going to be moving. Even with all the books I didn't purchase, and the books I gave away while packing, half the moving boxes still stacked in my bedroom are full of books. So yeah, I simply couldn't buy more.

But I read over fifty books in 2013--most of which I got from the local library. And that's okay. In fact, that's great. If people quit going to the library we'd probably quit having libraries. And that would be terrible. If you're in a place physically or financially where you can't buy books, that doesn't mean you can't support your favorite authors.


Here are ten ways to give a little author love without spending a dime:

10. Skip the piracy and use the library. Librarians take notice when books are in high demand, and they can be powerful author allies.

9. Follow your favorite authors on Twitter and like them on Facebook. Don't feel bad if they can't reciprocate--Twitter isn't very useful if you're following 10,000 people. If the author posts something that resonates with you, share or retweet the post.

8. Request books. If your school or local library isn't carrying a book you enjoyed, ask them to order it. Again, librarians are superheroes in the publishing world.

7. Reviews, reviews, reviews. I don't care if you bought the book, checked it out of the library, or read it slowly over several visits to Barnes & Noble--honest reviews are an author's best friend. Nothing says "Hey, this must be good. It's really popular!" like seeing a new book pop up on a website with loads of reviews. Copy and paste your reviews to all the major sites--Goodreads, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, etc.

6. Comment on the author's blog. Most blogs seem to get fifty page views for every one comment. Take the time to respond to posts that are especially meaningful to you. Yeah, it sucks to figure out some of those captchas, but authors love to know that someone is listening.

Andrea Cremer and me. Even authors like meeting authors!

5. Go see authors in person. Nothing is more horrifying than spending weeks stressing out about and preparing for a bookstore appearance only to have three people (two of whom are related to the author) show up. Don't feel like you can't attend a signing or speak to an author because you don't have money to buy the featured book. You matter to us. We want you there.

4. Sponsor a read-a-long. A read-a-long is like an online book club discussion. You invite the author to provide some questions about his or her book and recruit a group of readers who want to read and discuss the book at the same time.

3. Become a member of Goodreads. GR is chock-a-block with ways to support your fave authors. Start simple and add the author's book to your to-be-read list. Maybe vote for the book on Goodreads lists or add your favorite quotes from the book. Recommend the book to other members you think might enjoy it.

2. Tell your friends about the books you love. Tell them in person and on GR and Twitter and on your blog if you have one. Before the internet was big, there used to be a saying in customer service like "A satisfied customer tells 7 people about his experience. An unsatisfied customer tells 25." Pretty sure nowadays an unsatisfied customer tells thousands of people. But you can use the internet's power for good too! Most books don't get six-figure marketing budgets. The way they become successful is through word-of-mouth. That means you!

1. The most basic thing of all--send the author a tweet or an email. They may not be able to respond to you--some authors get thousands of messages a week--but that doesn't mean they're not reading them and appreciating them. No one ever gets tired of hearing someone say "Your book changed me/saved me/ helped me/ made me laugh my butt off." And when we're struggling with our newest project, sometimes it's your emails and tweets that motivate us to keep going.

Can you think of other ways to support authors for free? What about ways for authors to support their favorite bloggers? List them in the comments.

Happy holidays! And as always, thanks for reading :)

Seasons Greetings from Mufasa AKA "Moo."