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Comment by NoZebra120vClip | Hacker News Reader

That's almost never the case. And how can some stranger at a call center know this? Mentally ill people are unreliable narrators of their own circumstances. They're prone to exaggerations, delusion, rants, lies, subterfuge, concealment, verbal abuse.

If someone called 998, then yes, please listen to them. Listen attentively, validate their feelings, but soothe and comfort and reassure them. There are systematic ways to do this and they can get results.

But never ever call 998. Beware if someone offers to do so. Your hospital incarceration will be more traumatic, damaging, and expensive than any other alternative.

Get help before it gets to that point. Seek out good therapists and support groups when you're sane and calm, and stick to your treatment. Do it in-person, face-to-face. There is no substitute.

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When I was sick with a condition whose symptoms precluded me from being aware that I was sick, I yet had a vague awareness that something was wrong. I ended up talking to an academic adviser at my university, who had the insight to transfer me to the university's general practitioner, who had the insight to transfer me to an excellent specialized treatment program. I am now fully recovered. I was very lucky: if I had called 911, I would likely have been placed on a railroad to a much worse place.

988 is not 911. Authorities are only called in extreme circumstances. Please do call if you feel the need.

You called 998, you called the "authorities" already. Cat's out of the bag. Van's engine is running. They know where you live and they know how fast you're moving. They can't know how many doses you took or how many rounds are left. You'll wake up chained to a bed with screams and moaning in the hallway. Nurse Ratched is here with your pills.

Your attitude actively harms people with mental illness. Well done.

But doesn't the attitude that one should trust the 998 system also actively harm people with mental illness?

Your attitude of dismissal over why a suicidal person would prefer to avoid calling 988 is disingenuous and perpetuates real harm while it serves as a wolf in sheep's clothing.

The whole point of the article was that there's no transparency. Nobody knows how many calls gets passed along to 911 and there's no way for an end user to know if they are getting pinged/traced. It is a fraud and a violation of trust for 988 to bill itself as confidential under these circumstances.

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