“We all know that the after effects of the pandemic have been hard on everyone’s mental health, particularly Gen-Z. We are seeing that teens talked more about suicide, self harm, bullying, and eating disorders last year than older texters—the need for mental health support is more critical than ever.” – Dena Trujillo, CEO of Crisis Text Line. 

Crisis Text Line’s 4th annual United in Empathy Report 2022 is now LIVE; published here. Based on last year’s conversations with our texters, we have a unique insight into the current mental health crisis since we are able to track mental health issues and social stressors that weigh on our texters, as well as the coping tools and strategies that helped them get through a crisis. 

Last year, people in crisis initiated more than 1.3 million conversations with us or nearly 40 million individual messages. In our 2022 report, for the first time, relationships (ie: with parents, friends, partners) became the top stressor in our conversations with texters as 1 in 3 people discussed relationship stress or dysfunction. In addition, nearly 1 in 5 texters talked about suffering from the absence of human connection – feeling isolated or lonely. We also saw that as more kids went back to school in person, there was an increase in conversations surrounding bullying and relationship stress. Mentions of social stressors such as finances, opioids, and guns also increased.

We also explored the coping strategies that helped our texters navigate the crises in their lives. Our texters turned to a wide variety of tools such as listening to music, connecting with friends, arts & crafts, and seeking the help of mental health professionals; as well as playing video games, watching TV, listening to audiobooks, caring for pets, cooking, walking or volunteering. These results indicate that addressing the youth mental health crisis may start by empowering our young people to turn to already-accessible tools and resources to cope and build inner strength.

“We can’t achieve our mission to support people wherever they are without our volunteer Crisis Counselors. They are part of the mental health solution. Not only are our volunteers supporting texters in their moment of need but the skills they gain also help them support their family and friends as well as navigate their own mental health.” — Dena Trujillo, CEO of Crisis Text Line. 

Every day, we are seeing strangers supporting strangers during their time of need and helping them find their strength. If you are looking to make a difference in people’s lives, please join our network of amazing volunteers today.

Check out our United in Empathy 2022 Report, which is available online at crisistextline.org/empathy.

If you are seeking free and confidential mental health support, you can connect with us via web chat, text HELLO or 443-SUPPORT in WhatsApp or text HOLA to 741741 or 442-AYUDAME in WhatsApp for Spanish to reach a live, trained volunteer Crisis Counselor who are available 24/7.