There’s getting help, and then there’s receiving help. Sometimes these are simultaneous: you ask for help and the call is answered almost immediately. Sometimes, if not many times, there’s a wait: you schedule an appointment; expect an update; await a reply; that doesn’t mean your needs are attended to immediately. For urgent issues, each moment in wait prolongs the problem.

The liminal space between looking for a solution and actually having one could feel like you’re hanging in limbo. While uncertainty might blend with unease, not having a plan and not knowing what to do can provoke a sense of helplessness. But feeling helpless doesn’t have to lead to hopelessness. 

Helplessness and hopelessness have different focuses and beliefs about autonomy and agency. Helplessness recognizes an issue that it doesn’t feel it can change, while hopelessness doesn’t even believe change is possible (Gençöz et al., 2006). Both can impact mental health and present in different ways, such as hopelessness showing up with dizziness, and helplessness being embodied in symptoms like low energy or fatigue (Ejdemyr et al., 2021). 

Feeling like your situation needs to change yet being burdened by adverse emotions isn’t a fun place to be in, so finding and accepting help should relieve some of the pressure. Until you’re plagued by waitlists. Waitlists are all too common for comfort, even with mental health services and psychiatrists (Stamm et al., 2023; Stringer, 2023). You shouldn’t need an emergency room for immediate support.


Not having a plan means sitting with worries, which means letting anxieties fester. The longer you’re in the liminal space of not having something solved, the sicker you feel, and the longer you don’t know your solution, the worse it gets. The limbo of waiting for an emergency to be addressed may promise getting closer to the resolution, but why wait on a promise when there is an answer that can be addressed immediately?

Whether its physical or mental health, response times matter for all crises (Wilde, 2013; Munster Behavioral Health, 2024). With Onrise, you have the option to be seen within 48 hours of your request and access a 24-hour crisis line. Instantaneous support is coupled with unlimited access, so when you have Onrise, we’re here for you, both as an active support system, and as a safety net in your background. We’re here to get you a plan custom fit for you, and to talk with you through it.

Written by Myers Bell, an undergraduate student of neuroscience and psychology at Sewanee: The University of the South, and has an interest in salutogenesis and proactive mental and brain health optimization. Having dabbled in crew and rugby, she recognizes the complicated relationship between the brain and body, which has sparked a lifelong passion for investigating and understanding these dynamics.

References

  1. Gençöz, F., Vatan, S., Walker, R., & Lester, D. (2008). A brief research note: helplessness, hopelessness, and haplessness as predictors of suicidal ideation: a cross-cultural study. Omega, 57(3), 315–318. https://doi.org/10.2190/OM.57.3.f
  2. Ejdemyr, I., Hedström, F., Gruber, M. & Nordin, S. (2021). Somatic symptoms of helplessness and hopelessness. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1111/sjop.12713
  3. Stamm, K., Assefa, M., and Page, C. (2023). Nearly 40% of psychologists have a waitlist. American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2023/09/many-psychologists-have-waitlist
  4. Stringer, H. (2023). Providers predict longer wait times for mental health services. Here’s who it impacts most. American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2023/04/mental-health-services-wait-times
  5. Wilde E. T. (2013). Do emergency medical system response times matter for health outcomes?. Health economics, 22(7), 790–806. https://doi.org/10.1002/hec.2851
  6. Munster Behavioral Health. (2024). Why is timely intervention important in mental health crisis?. Munster Behavioral Health Center for Emotional Well Being. https://munsterbehavioralhealth.com/why-is-timely-intervention-important-in-mental-health-crisis/