Disclaimer: This blog post handles the subject of mental health in a way that some people may find distressing. Reader discretion is recommended. In case you feel yourself struggling with your mental health, there is a list of links at the bottom of this blog post where help and advice can be found. Please take care <3
In my last two blog posts, I’ve put a large focus on algorithms and robots. With questions and wonderments whether they are compatible with humans and whether there is any danger of them taking over. Coming to a conclusion that robots have mastered many skills while not being superior to humans, there is, however, one thing that robots have not been able to master…
…emotions.
Since robots and self-learning algorithms haven’t been able to master the magic and mystery behind human emotions, the focus in this post is going to be on, well…humans on the internet dealing with emotions.
With the midterms almost upon us, I think it is safe to say that most people experience more stress and pressure than usual. I, for one, am no exception to this. As an overachiever and a sworn perfectionist, it takes its toll mentally and as to be expected: there came a moment when I crashed under my own internal pressure. Not quite knowing where to turn in my moment of despair, I turned to a platform that I have found helpful from time to time, the Red-cross helpline. It is based in Iceland and offers one to talk anonymously to trained volunteers about virtually anything one may be struggling with. Several years back, the Red Cross introduced a webchat in addition to the telephone helpline. For me, that has been revolutionary because although I do not struggle with talking in general, talking about emotions and feelings is a whole other cup of tea. That is when I choke on my words and find it easier to express myself in the written word.
Friend, not a foe
It is easy to go on a downward spiral when spending time online. As research shows, excessive social media use can be harmful, and yet we are addicted to it. Or the number of trolls and people with stupid comments you can find on platforms such as YouTube or Reddit, just to name a few. Not to say that those platforms I just mentioned are all out bad, but it is where the discussion tends to go – about the pitfalls of the online environment in general. In the case of the Red Cross helpline, it is a platform that is enormously helpful and offers psychological help and relief when dealing with difficulties. The volunteers answering the phone and the webchat do not only offer a listening ear and fast-typing fingers for answers, but they also offer guidance on where to seek further help. Like they may point to a certain place or people that can offer long-term help, especially if it is a persisting problem in one’s life. A spark of hope when all hope seems lost.
For helplines in The Netherlands:
De luisterlijn – Anonymous helpline, webchat and email service for emotional support. Open 24/7, free of charge.
Suicide prevention – Helpline and various other information for help for suicide prevention.
Help that Leiden University offers:
Caring Universities – Online program to help improve students’ well-being, created by clinical psychologists.
Student support groups – Small student-based groups with either a student or a teacher leading.
Student psychologists – Psychologists for students registered at Leiden University.
Thank you for your insightful blog! I think including links for helplines is a really powerful tool and may lower the treshold for those in need of help. I often get lost in all the information about services provided by University Leiden, so listing it here is very clarifying 🙂
Btw, the image in your blog cleverly addresses the reading about the theory on performativity from Hoffman!
Thank you for your comment Laura 🙂 I have the same feeling of getting lost in all that is offered by the university as the information tends to be scattered among several different places. Nice shout to the article about performativity by Hoffman, I hadn’t thought of that aspect before!
I think it is really great that you wrote this blog! This is because I personally also struggle with some of these issue’s. These sites are also very helpful for finding small ways to find help. I also discussed a little bit of added pressure of the corona pandemic on students in my podcast on digital educations. In which i didn’t even know some of the tools the university provides.
As someone who once called the Dutch suicide prevention hotline, not because I was necessarily actively thinking about ending my life, but because my first real boyfriend had broken up with me and I had no one to talk to in that situation, I can share that my experience was not so great. I had to wait for over an hour until I could speak to someone. Maybe 2 am is prime time for them, but I can imagine the despair you are in when calling such a hotline can become too much when you have to listen to a beep tone for over an hour straight. When I finally did speak to someone, I was panicking completely, and the woman on the other end of the line came across as very impersonal and blunt, like she was just going over a list of routine questions and remarks. I get it’s a job, and that the time at which I called is not a time anybody should want to be awake, but it didn’t make me feel much better then. I do obviously applaud these helplines for all the people they did help! I think for me, personally, hearing a stranger say ‘there are so many people that love you’ when the only person that mattered to me had just dumped me, was not really doing it.