Help for your mind, now and next

Mental-health help does not require waiting for a dramatic crisis. Use 988 for immediate crisis support, 911 for imminent danger, and the local treatment paths here for the next step.

The fuller answer

Most people who need help with their mental health never have a dramatic crisis. They have months of not sleeping, drinking a little more than they used to, a heaviness that won't lift, or a temper that frightens them. In a working town where people are proud of fixing things themselves, that can go on a long time before anyone says it out loud.

Here is where to call. Some of these lines are for the worst night of someone's life, and some are for an ordinary Tuesday when things just aren't right.

Right now

• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org. It's free, confidential, and open 24 hours, for mental health, suicide and substance-use crises. Press 2 for Spanish, or text AYUDA to 988. Veterans press 1. Deaf and hard-of-hearing callers can reach it by TTY or ASL videophone. To text, you can send any message to 988. You can call for someone else, too.
• If someone is in immediate danger, call 911.

Local crisis lines

Baytown straddles a county line, and the local mental health authority depends on which side you live on. - Harris County side: The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD. Its 24/7 Crisis and Access Line has counselors available any hour, and the number is on theharriscenter.org. Its psychiatric emergency services, at its NeuroPsychiatric Center, are open 24 hours a day for people of all ages in a psychiatric crisis. A Mobile Crisis Outreach Team responds to people who are in crisis and can't or won't reach services on their own, and a crisis stabilization unit offers short inpatient stays, on average three to five days, for Harris County residents 18 and older. - Chambers County side: Spindletop Center. It runs a 24-hour toll-free crisis hotline; the number is on spindletopcenter.org. It also offers substance use recovery services, services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, early childhood intervention for children up to age 3, and Mental Health First Aid courses.

These are the public agencies responsible for crisis care and for connecting people to treatment in each county, including people without insurance.

Recovery rarely has a dramatic ending.

It looks like ordinary days that add up.

Finding treatment

• SAMHSA National Helpline. It's free, confidential, 24 hours a day, in English and Spanish, and gives treatment referrals for mental health and substance use. The number is at samhsa.gov.
• FindTreatment.gov is the federal locator for treatment programs near you.
• Your doctor. The National Institute of Mental Health says to seek professional help when severe or distressing symptoms, such as trouble sleeping, changes in appetite, trouble concentrating or losing interest in what you enjoy, last two weeks or more, and to start with a primary care provider, who can refer you to a mental health professional. If you don't have one, see Finding a doctor.
• Harris Health Baytown Health Center, 1602 Garth Road, offers psychiatry and counseling and is open weekdays 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Legacy Community Health on Garth Road offers behavioral health.
• CAN Behavioral Health, 401 W Texas Ave, lists mental health treatment, substance use treatment, dual-diagnosis treatment, a partial hospitalization program, an intensive outpatient program and aftercare. Individual and family services run Monday through Thursday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday 10 to 3, and adult group sessions meet Monday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings from 6 to 9.
• Counseling practices. Bay Area Professional Counseling PLLC (7701 Bayway Dr), Benison Counseling (1300 Rollingbrook Dr, Suite 502), Depression, Anxiety & Wellness Center (4721 Garth Rd) and Texas Child and Family Institute (6730 Independence Blvd.) are listed with us. We don't rate them. Ask each about insurance, fees and how soon it can see you.

The day after

The crisis gets the attention. The weeks after it get the work. If someone you love has come home from a psychiatric hospital or a hard night in the ER, the follow-up appointment matters as much as the discharge. Keep it, give them a ride, and ask what they need, which may not be what you'd guess. Recovery rarely has a dramatic ending. It looks like ordinary days that add up. The NIMH also lists ordinary things that help: a daily walk, regular sleep, good meals, and staying connected with other people.

For the family

If you're worried about someone, ask them directly how they're doing, including whether they've thought about suicide. Asking doesn't plant the idea. It opens the door. Then stay with them and call 988 together.

The NIMH's five action steps are worth having in mind. Ask directly, and studies show that asking people if they are suicidal does not increase suicidal thoughts or behavior. Be there, and listen without judgment. Help keep them safe, by making dangerous items less available or less deadly. Help them connect to 988 and to people they trust. And follow up, since staying in touch after a crisis or a discharge can make a difference.

For teenagers, see Raising teenagers.

Before you go

• Put 988 in your phone, and know that you can call or text it for someone else.
• Decide now which county line you live on, Harris or Chambers, so you know which local crisis service to reach on a bad night.
• Ask any provider about hours, insurance and fees before the first visit, and ask how soon the first appointment can be.
• After a crisis, put the follow-up appointment on the calendar and arrange the ride.
• If someone is in immediate danger, call 911 and stay with them.

Sources

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, "Get Help" and FAQ; SAMHSA, National Helpline and FindTreatment.gov; The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD, crisis services; Spindletop Center; Texas HHS, local mental health authority directory; NIMH, "5 Action Steps to Help Someone Having Thoughts of Suicide" and "Caring for Your Mental Health."