Flood Of Calls And Texts To Crisis Hotlines Reflects Americans' Rising Anxiety
People are calling crisis hotlines in greater numbers, complaining of more complex struggles. What these lines are seeing offers a window into the emotional struggles Americans face.
Normally, Laura Mayer helps the most acutely suicidal callers find the nearest hospital emergency room. But in a pandemic, that has become a crisis counselor's advice of last resort.
"It's a difficult decision because we do know that by sending them into an overburdened health care system, they may or may not get the treatment that they need," says Mayer, who is director of PRS CrisisLink in Oakton, Va.,
