My 988 Experience

[thousandislandstare]

Contacted 988 because it is supposedly linked to non-crisis support services as well. It was weird, it felt like they weren't really paying attention to what I was saying. I don't know if they were struggling with consulting their scripts or if they were multi-tasking and possibly handling multiple sessions. My situation may be too complicated, but I also felt as though I was leading the conversation, because there were long pauses and it wasn't clear how much information they wanted me to volunteer at a time.


7:07 PM - 988 Lifeline: hi thank you for reaching out to 988, my name is _____, how can i help?

7:07 PM - You: Hi, I'm _____

7:08 PM - You: I'm not in a crisis situation, but I'm just in a very bad place in life and I feel completely in over my head

7:09 PM - You: I was laid off from a job I had worked for almost 18 years about a year ago and I've barely been able to function

7:09 PM - You: I'm sorry, I'm not sure if this was the appropriate service to use

7:10 PM - 988 Lifeline: hi _____ nice to chat with you, i am here for you. You mentioned being laid off a job you worked for almost 18 years, that sounds very challenging

7:12 PM - You: Yeah, I just have been unsure of how to handle any of this. I think I am probably on the spectrum, but I have not been diagnosed

7:16 PM - 988 Lifeline: i see

7:19 PM - 988 Lifeline: before we continue

7:19 PM - 988 Lifeline: have you had any thoughts of suicide today or in the last few days?

7:20 PM - You: I have had ideation this month, but I am not actively planning

7:21 PM - 988 Lifeline: ok have you taken any action to harm yourself today?

7:22 PM - You: No, I haven't

7:22 PM - You: It's more of a feeling. I think about it a lot, but I am not in any immediate danger

7:23 PM - 988 Lifeline: ok got it

7:26 PM - 988 Lifeline: lets talk more

7:27 PM - You: Alright. Is this the appropriate service to use? I don't want to tie up the line if it's only meant for people who are in immediate danger

7:28 PM - 988 Lifeline: no worries this is appropriate for you

7:28 PM - You: Okay

7:28 PM - 988 Lifeline: you mentioned feeling completely over with life, understandable how much distress this can cause being laid off your job, have you spoken to anyone about any of this?

7:30 PM - You: Not really. I'm not really close to anyone in real life. I tried to talk to the few people I know about the layoff, but it doesn't feel like they care. I'm not close to my family at all

7:30 PM - You: I haven't been that open with them about mental health stuff

7:30 PM - You: I've just tried to reach out to people on peer support online spaces

7:32 PM - You: I kind of feel like my living as an independent adult was a fluke. I don't feel capable of navigating life on my own

7:33 PM - 988 Lifeline: i see

7:33 PM - 988 Lifeline: understandable that it can be difficult to reach out and speak to someone about our issues at times

7:34 PM - You: I think in most cases, people just kind of get uncomfortable or disgusted with you

7:35 PM - 988 Lifeline: you are free to speak here, we do not judge on the lines or make you feel uncomfortable by the way

7:37 PM - You: Thank you

7:39 PM - You: Do you know if there are any services that would help someone in my situation? I need to find work, but my mental health is making it even more difficult than it would normally be

7:40 PM - 988 Lifeline: sure

7:40 PM - 988 Lifeline: i have a database of resources which we can explore , first i would like to gain a further understanding of your situation

7:40 PM - You: Okay

7:48 PM - 988 Lifeline: sure thing

7:51 PM - 988 Lifeline: did you see my message?

7:52 PM - You: The last one I saw said "sure thing"

7:53 PM - You: I thought you were going to ask me a question or something

7:55 PM - 988 Lifeline: lets take a minute to discuss the thoughts of suicide you mentioned

7:56 PM - You: Alright. Is there anything in particular I should say about it?

7:59 PM - 988 Lifeline: regarding the suicidal thoughts you reported, do you have a plan or intent to act on these thoughts today?

7:59 PM - You: No, I do not

8:00 PM - 988 Lifeline: ok

8:00 PM - 988 Lifeline: sounds as if these are just passive thoughts

8:02 PM - You: Do you still have access to the database

8:02 PM - 988 Lifeline: yes

8:04 PM - 988 Lifeline: although you mentioned not having an intent or specific plan, do you have access to any weapons or means available at this time?

8:05 PM - You: No

8:06 PM - You: I am not in any immediate danger or a danger to others

8:08 PM - 988 Lifeline: ok

8:15 PM - 988 Lifeline: lets review some reasons for living, what are some reasons for living for you?

8:15 PM - 988 Lifeline: are you there?

8:15 PM - 988 Lifeline: if you do not respond i have to discuss

8:15 PM - Your conversation has ended
Resume conversation by sending a new message
June 29, 2026 8:15 PM

8:15 PM - You: I think I'm actually going to leave now. Thank you.

 

[wakeawake]

your attachments aren't visible for me... im curious though. Ive always avoided bothering trying them, a dr of mine even confirmed they can and do sometimes deploy people to your location (she said as a head up why I might not want to use it) but also I have read their instruction manuals a bit from research which feels pretty much like it is just 'scripts'

Your notes sound like they confirm the scripts part - but haven't never called im definitely curious about the experience

 

[Surek]

your attachments aren't visible for me...

Click one of the links and solve the captcha, then all the other pictures will work for you:

https://i.sanctioned-suicide.net/images/2026/06/265522_988_1.png

https://i.sanctioned-suicide.net/images/2026/06/265523_988_2.png

 

[thousandislandstare]

your attachments aren't visible for me... im curious though. Ive always avoided bothering trying them, a dr of mine even confirmed they can and do sometimes deploy people to your location (she said as a head up why I might not want to use it) but also I have read their instruction manuals a bit from research which feels pretty much like it is just 'scripts'

Your notes sound like they confirm the scripts part - but haven't never called im definitely curious about the experience

I just pasted in the text... after the chat timed out, there did seem to be someone who maybe had better communication skills, but I was unfortunately away from my computer. The quality of the interaction might be a coinflip.

And yeah, I was very careful to state that I am not in a crisis situation so I would not get a visit from law enforcement or EMTs
It almost sounded like they really wanted me to be in a situation that called for emergency services being sent to my home.

 

[wakeawake]

Click one of the links and solve the captcha, then all the other pictures will work for you:

https://i.sanctioned-suicide.net/images/2026/06/265522_988_1.png

https://i.sanctioned-suicide.net/images/2026/06/265523_988_2.png

that reminds me of way too many conversations I have ended up having with LLMs - which are more than likely trained on all the same scripts.

It's annoying how completely it's about getting you away from any immediate harm, over and over, the minute you even sort of admit to any ideation, then they dont believe you when you try to assure them.

Then of course they are not really actually like, you know, actually helping you with things that might actually help your situation. And you ARE asking for that.

 

[thousandislandstare]

It almost sounded like they really wanted me to be in a situation that called for emergency services being sent to my home.

that reminds me of way too many conversations I have ended up having with LLMs - which are more than likely trained on all the same scripts.

It's annoying how completely it's about getting you away from any immediate harm, over and over, the minute you even sort of admit to any ideation, then they dont believe you when you try to assure them.

Then of course they are not really actually like, you know, actually helping you with things that might actually help your situation. And you ARE asking for that.

Yeah, it's funny how often people say not to use LLMs because they think they're going to hypnotize a perfectly mentally healthy person into strangling themself or something, when they are most likely trained with the same scripts. LLMs are not without their flaws, but they at least respond a little faster (this person was extremely slow and seemed very distracted, I'm not sure if the time stamps really convey that) and can sort of improvise.

It really felt like I was taking on too much of the burden and tried to state several times I wasn't in a crisis situation and even tried to offer them an out by saying I was willing to contact a different service if this was not appropriate use. It basically felt like DM conversation with a disinterested rando on Discord or something. I might try again a little later, but ugh.

 

[jesteroutofwork]

It's disgusting how robotic hotlines are, really. My experience was pretty similar. They get batshit crazy once you dare to mention some kind of suicidal ideation lmao. It's almost like the only thing they care about is to put you in a mental hospital. It kinda reminds me of abusive parenting. They can put you through hell and then say they were actually acting in your interest. Sorry for your experience OP

 

[Fadenself00_]

It's disgusting how robotic hotlines are, really. My experience was pretty similar. They get batshit crazy once you dare to mention some kind of suicidal ideation lmao. It's almost like the only thing they care about is to put you in a mental hospital. It kinda reminds me of abusive parenting. They can put you through hell and then say they were actually acting in your interest. Sorry for your experience OP

wHy DO wE HAvE a MeNTaL hEALtH cRiSiS?
WhY ArE pEoPLE noT seEKInG hELP?!

 

[thousandislandstare]

It's disgusting how robotic hotlines are, really. My experience was pretty similar. They get batshit crazy once you dare to mention some kind of suicidal ideation lmao. It's almost like the only thing they care about is to put you in a mental hospital. It kinda reminds me of abusive parenting. They can put you through hell and then say they were actually acting in your interest. Sorry for your experience OP

Yeah... I was kind of afraid if I wasn't at least somewhat honest about suicide ideation, it would seem like I was messing around. Maybe a bad call on my part.

And I don't mean this literally, but it was almost as if they made commission on total number of involuntary commitments like they were working in a sales call center. They even put words into my mouth early on in the conversation, changing "in over my head" to "completely over with life." But also, on the call center note, it did really seem as though the person was taking on multiple conversations simultaneously, running out the clock, then bailing as soon as a time limit was reached. Near the end, there was a 7 minute pause, followed by impatience (I didn't respond within the same minute), followed by disconnection at just before 70 minutes was hit. There was also an autocomplete style typo at the end that indicated they might have been doing this with a cell phone. Very weird.

 

[Lamentice]

your attachments aren't visible for me... im curious though. Ive always avoided bothering trying them, a dr of mine even confirmed they can and do sometimes deploy people to your location (she said as a head up why I might not want to use it)

They do, I've experienced it. The even worse part is if it's a low priority issue to the police at the moment, you'll think you're in the clear and they'll show up a fucking week after the call, so at that point you might not even immediately recall why they're there which is shit.


To the rest of the discussion: I wouldn't be suprised if the "person" you [OP] chatted with was a trained A.I., kind of sounds like it.

 

[sadbh]

I've had decent experiences with calling 988 just to vent and whatnot. I don't give any personal info though so police can't be called. I also try to directly tell them what I want out of the conversation and sometimes say "I already have a safety plan" to skip over that bit.