Mississippi sees jump in suicide hotline calls during virus

Abstract

Calls from Mississippi to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline have increased by 20% since the start of the COVID‐19 pandemic, according to a leader at the state Department of Mental Health, Gulflive.com reported. “There are severe mental health challenges going on as a result of this virus,” Gov. Tate Reeves said at a press briefing with Wendy Bailey, chief of staff at the Mississippi Department of Mental Health. “There is fear, there is pain and there is anxiety in this country and in our state and those cannot be overstated.” The number of people seeking mental health services in the state has increased across the board since February, Bailey said. These challenges can be spurred by changes in eating or sleeping habits, anxiety about one's health or the health of loved ones, stress over the loss of a job or increased use of substances, something that is common during a major event like the pandemic, Bailey said. Bailey and Reeves took time to share mental health resources, including the 24/7 mobile crisis unit in each of the state's 82 counties that responds to mental health emergencies. “We need to face the depression, anxiety and fear that are plaguing us,” said Bailey.