FYI-This is a long ass post with no TL;DR.....sorry. It's basically my story of how 988 can ruin you life and some tips/offers of help. Just a different perspective.
Until they start sending ONLY emts, counselors, hostage negotiators, social workers, shrinks, firefighters, etc. (people properly trained in mental health issues and how to address them) and NEVER COPS! to these calls....i will never trust 988.
A mutual friend called 988 on my ex 6 years ago during a panic attack and it has terrorized my family ever since. We have been abused, criminalized, stalked, harassed, extorted, and threatened by the cops who responded to that call nonstop to this day.
They beat up my geriatric mother and threw her down stairs while handcuffed (then charged her with Assault to a PO to cover the police brutality, yeah 81yo grandma with a criminal record now), held me at gunpoint to illegally enter my home and my car (multiple times for the car), they are parked outside my house at night constantly (they are there literally right now....2 suv cruisers one in front of my driveway and the other across the street) and caught snooping around my property on security cams, they box me in at the gas station and write me BS tickets at least once a month that always get dismissed.....i even went to jail for a night on a BS charge they made up that got thrown out immediately.
Side story to explain the night in jail! Homeless schizophrenic guy was running around my neighborhood naked helicoptering his junk at security cameras on ppls porches, lol weird exhibitionist fetish or drugs i assume. But the guy was 20 years older than me at least, had nearly full upper body and some face tattoos (i only have a half sleeve, ribs, and a tiny chest piece), and he had black or very dark brown hair with long dreads (mine was very blonde, un-dreaded, and short at that time).... but those jackbooted thugs (same ones as previous story) came straight to my house and arrested me on my front lawn in my pajamas instead of going out and finding the right guy...i paid out the ass for a good lawyer and got the charges dropped as well as some restitution from the county and state for the unlawful arrest/imprisonment and emotional trauma during my unlawful arrest and time in county, i wouldn't go through it again for $100,000....the restitution cant fix what they did to me.....on a lighter note, some lawyers are pretty good ppl and will bust ass for what's right, not all of em are evil lol.
I now ONLY call state troopers when in need, i just tell them i have a hostile relationship with local pd and they understand that i can't call the sheriff....and it's usually me calling for help getting rid of the local sheriff's thuggish crew.
The state troopers here are some of the few good cops I've ever interacted with. They are better trained, they care more, and they actually try to help and be of service without violence. I've had to call the Staties in on the local county cops 5 or 6 times now, and they always come through and get rid of the local scum quickly. I can respect them and appreciate them as proper peace officers. Real cops.
That is just my experience with 988.....i'm not telling anyone not to use it, but if you have any option for help that prevents police involvement.....like a church, religious crisis line, a friend or family to take you to the ER, etc. please try those options first. Fuck, I'm a Satanist and a month ago i called a christian crisis hotline while intently suicidal and chatted for 3 hours with this wonderful volunteer who kept trying to convert me lol....which was frustrating af ......but the frustration and debate kept me occupied long enough that i calmed down and wasn't focused on the pain i was dealing with...then we just talked. I vented and cried, she listened and shared experience and advice where she could and cried......i think she sensed that getting me frustrated about theism and other debates would help. She knew i wanted to die at that moment.....but you know what never happened? She never called in a force of violence like cops on me. She just listened and acted like a friend as best she could. And it really worked. I found a therapist and psychiatrist within the next few days....neither one of them worked out but that's a story for another day. The point is that regardless of our differences....a black southern Christian woman and a white Satanist man got together for a civil and respectful conversation that ended up saving my life.
That's what people need in their really dark and low times, a friend...not handcuffs, imprisonment, sedation, etc.....just people willing to listen and hopefully a few to help figure the mess out.
This is just my opinion.....but if you want to avoid getting locked up, abused, over and improperly medicated, and treated like a criminal for your emotions (the last psych hospital i was at had us wear ankle monitors to be scanned every 15 minutes and they'd force me to finish food i found repulsive.....jail wasn't even that bad. I could discard and trade food as i pleased and the guards, although abrasive, were very respectful of the idea that prisoners and criminals are still human beings with needs. When i asked the jail guards to give me alone time because i needed it, they obliged and only spoke to me over the PA when i told them it was ok. I never got that level of respect in a psych hospital.
State troopers and correctional officers get an unfounded bad rap. If you are in jail already, those COs are just doing their job and trying to keep all of you alive. State Troopers are just trying to uphold the state constitution and protect innocents. Most of them.
I have hated cops all my life. And my hate grew 100 fold when i watched a cop throw my elderly mother down the stairs and beat her.
But i believe we can do better. I believe that we can fix this fucked up system. Maybe i'm naive, maybe my mom's optimism rubbed off on me too much. But i believe for whatever reason, and that is damn well enough for me. We can do better.
Now that I'm done ranting, if you are in crisis....please DM me. Idc if its to vent, for advice, if you need an uber to the hospital........whatever y'all need. I got your back.