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SAMHSA’s National Helpline | SAMHSA

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SAMHSA’s National Helpline is a free, confidential, 24/7, 365-day-a-year treatment referral and information service (in English and Spanish) for individuals and families facing mental and/or substance use disorders.
Also visit the online treatment locator.

SAMHSA’s National Helpline, 1-800-662-HELP (4357) (also known as the Treatment Referral Routing Service), or TTY: 1-800-487-4889 is a confidential, free, 24-hour-a-day, 365-day-a-year, information service, in English and Spanish, for individuals and family members facing mental and/or substance use disorders. This service provides referrals to local treatment facilities, support groups, and community-based organizations.

Also visit the online treatment locator, or send your zip code via text message: 435748 (HELP4U) to find help near you. Read more about the HELP4U text messaging service.

The service is open 24/7, 365 days a year.

English and Spanish are available if you select the option to speak with a national representative. Currently, the 435748 (HELP4U) text messaging service is only available in English.

In 2020, the Helpline received 833,598 calls. This is a 27 percent increase from 2019, when the Helpline received a total of 656,953 calls for the year.

The referral service is free of charge. If you have no insurance or are underinsured, we will refer you to your state office, which is responsible for state-funded treatment programs. In addition, we can often refer you to facilities that charge on a sliding fee scale or accept Medicare or Medicaid. If you have health insurance, you are encouraged to contact your insurer for a list of participating health care providers and facilities.

The service is confidential. We will not ask you for any personal information. We may ask for your zip code or other pertinent geographic information in order to track calls being routed to other offices or to accurately identify the local resources appropriate to your needs.

No, we do not provide counseling. Trained information specialists answer calls, transfer callers to state services or other appropriate intake centers in their states, and connect them with local assistance and support.

Suggested Resources
What Is Substance Abuse Treatment? A Booklet for Families
Created for family members of people with alcohol abuse or drug abuse problems. Answers questions about substance abuse, its symptoms, different types of treatment, and recovery. Addresses concerns of children of parents with substance use/abuse problems.
It's Not Your Fault (NACoA) (PDF | 12 KB)
Assures teens with parents who abuse alcohol or drugs that, "It's not your fault!" and that they are not alone. Encourages teens to seek emotional support from other adults, school counselors, and youth support groups such as Alateen, and provides a resource list.

After an Attempt: A Guide for Taking Care of Your Family Member After Treatment in the Emergency Department
Aids family members in coping with the aftermath of a relative's suicide attempt. Describes the emergency department treatment process, lists questions to ask about follow-up treatment, and describes how to reduce risk and ensure safety at home.
Family Therapy Can Help: For People in Recovery From Mental Illness or Addiction
Explores the role of family therapy in recovery from mental illness or substance abuse. Explains how family therapy sessions are run and who conducts them, describes a typical session, and provides information on its effectiveness in recovery.
For additional resources, please visit the SAMHSA Store.

Last Updated: 08/30/2022

Recovery and Recovery Support | SAMHSA

Recovery signals a dramatic shift in the expectation for positive outcomes for individuals who experience mental and substance use conditions or the co-occurring of the two.

SAMHSA's working definition of recovery defines recovery as a process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live self-directed lives, and strive to reach their full potential.

Today, when individuals with mental and/or substance use disorders seek help, they are met with the knowledge and belief that anyone can recover and/or manage their conditions successfully. The value of recovery and recovery-oriented systems of care is widely accepted by states, communities, health care providers, peers, families, researchers, and advocates including the U. S. Surgeon General, the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), and others.

Guiding Principles

Hope, the belief that these challenges and conditions can be overcome, is the foundation of recovery. A person’s recovery is built on his or her strengths, talents, coping abilities, resources, and inherent values. It is holistic, addresses the whole person and their community, and is supported by peers, friends, and family members.

The process of recovery is highly personal and occurs via many pathways. It may include clinical treatment, medications, faith-based approaches, peer support, family support, self-care, and other approaches. Recovery is characterized by continual growth and improvement in one’s health and wellness and managing setbacks. Because setbacks are a natural part of life, resilience becomes a key component of recovery.

Guiding Principles
The Four Dimensions of Recovery
The Office of Recovery
Recovery and Resilience
Recovery and Relationships
Recovery Support
Cultural Awareness and Competency
The Office of Behavioral Health Equity

The Four Major Dimensions of Recovery

Health

Overcoming or managing one’s disease(s) or symptoms, and making informed, healthy choices that support physical and emotional well-being
Home

Having a stable and safe place to live
Purpose

Conducting meaningful daily activities, such as a job, school volunteerism, family caretaking, or creative endeavors, and the independence, income, and resources to participate in society
Community

Having relationships and social networks that provide support, friendship, love, and hope

SAMHSA's Office of Recovery

The Office of Recovery was established to evaluate and initiate policy, programs and services with a recovery focus and ensure the voices of individuals in recovery are represented. The Office will support the growth and expansion of recovery support services across the country.

A national clearinghouse and resource for recovery-oriented care across the mental health, substance use, and co-occurring domains, the Office promotes a recovery-oriented system of care working in partnership with recovery community leaders, tracking progress over time and identifying to resolve barriers to system transformation.

Implement recovery-oriented principles and practices in real-world practice settings with diverse groups of people diagnosed with behavioral health conditions.

SAMHSA shares the importance of recovery support and highlights resources that encourage engagement in mental health and substance use treatment.

The goal of this challenge is to identify innovations developed by peer-run or community-based organizations that advance recovery.

This video series is a set of conversations between parents and providers discussing varying topics related to difficult situations parents find themselves in.

Recovery and Resilience

Resilience refers to an individual’s ability to cope with change and adversity. Resilience develops over time and gives an individual the capacity not only to cope with life’s challenges but also to be better prepared for the next stressful situation. Psychological resilience, the ability to cope with adversity and to adapt to stressful life events, varies widely from person to person and depends on environmental as well as personal factors. It refers to positive adaptation, or the ability to maintain mental and physical health despite participating in stressful situations. Resilience is playing up those protective factors so they can outweigh the risk factors. Optimism and the ability to remain hopeful are essential to resilience and the process of recovery.

Because recovery is a highly individualized process, recovery services and supports must be age appropriate and offered over the life course and flexible enough to ensure cultural relevancy. What may work for adults in recovery may be very different for youth or older adults in recovery. For example, the promotion of resiliency in young people, and the nature of social supports, peer mentors, and recovery coaching for adolescents and transitional age youth are different than recovery support services for adults and older adults.

Recovery and Relationships

The process of recovery is supported through relationships and social networks. This often involves family members who become the champions of their loved one’s recovery. They provide essential support to their family member’s journey of recovery and similarly experience the moments of positive healing as well as the difficult challenges. Families of people in recovery may experience adversities in their social, occupational, and financial lives, as well as in their overall quality of family life.

These experiences can lead to increased family stress, guilt, shame, anger, fear, anxiety, loss, grief, and isolation. The concept of resilience in recovery is also vital for family members who need access to intentional supports that promote their health and well-being. The support of peers and friends is also crucial in engaging and supporting individuals in recovery.

Peer support assists individuals to engage or stay connected to the recovery process through a shared understanding, respect, and mutual empowerment. Peer support extends beyond the reach of clinical treatment into the everyday environment providing non-clinical, strengths-based support. This relationship can help lay the foundation for SAMHSA’s four dimensions of recovery.

A peer-led national center that provides training and technical assistance related to substance use disorder recovery.

Recovery Support

SAMHSA advanced recovery support systems to promote partnering with people in recovery from mental and substance use disorders and their family members to guide the behavioral health system and promote individual, program, and system-level approaches that foster health and resilience; increase housing to support recovery; reduce barriers to employment, education, and other life goals; and secure necessary social supports in their chosen community.

Recovery support is provided in various settings. Recovery support services help people enter into and navigate systems of care, remove barriers to recovery, stay engaged in the recovery process, and live full lives in communities of their choice.

Recovery support services include culturally and linguistically appropriate services that assist individuals and families working toward recovery from mental and/or substance use problems. They incorporate a full range of social, legal, and other services (PDF | 409 KB). that facilitate recovery, wellness, and linkage to and coordination among service providers, and other supports shown to improve quality of life for people (and their families) in and seeking recovery.

Recovery support services may be provided before, during, or after clinical treatment, or may be provided to individuals who are not in treatment but seek support services.

These services, provided by professionals and peers, are delivered through a variety of community and faith-based groups, treatment providers, schools, and other specialized services. The broad range of service delivery options ensures the life experiences of all people are valued and represented.

For example, in the United States there are 34 recovery high schools that help reduce the risk in high school environments for youth with substance use disorders. These schools typically have high retention rates and low rates of students returning to substance use.

Additionally, SAMHSA's Bringing Recovery Supports to Scale Technical Assistance Center Strategy (BRSS TACS) advances effective recovery supports and services for people with mental or substance use disorders and their families.

Find more Publications and Resources on Recovery and Recovery Support.

Cultural Awareness and Competency

Supporting recovery requires that mental health and addiction services:

Be responsive and respectful to the health beliefs, practices, and cultural and linguistic needs of diverse people and groups
Actively address diversity in the delivery of services
Seek to reduce health disparities in access and outcomes

Cultural competence describes the ability of an individual or organization to interact effectively with people of different cultures. To produce positive change, practitioners must understand the cultural context of the community that they serve, and have the willingness and skills to work within this context. This means drawing on community-based values, traditions, and customs, and working with knowledgeable people from the community to plan, implement, and evaluate recovery activities.

Individuals, families, and communities that have experienced social and economic disadvantages are more likely to face greater obstacles to overall health. Characteristics such as race or ethnicity, religion, low socioeconomic status, gender, age, mental health, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity, geographic location, or other characteristics historically linked to exclusion or discrimination are known to influence health status.

SAMHSA is committed to addressing these health disparities by providing culturally and linguistically appropriate mental health, prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery support programs. This commitment is reinforced through the agency’s disparity impact statement that monitors programs and activities to ensure that access, use, and outcomes are equitable across racial, ethnic, and other under resourced populations.

Last Updated: 02/16/2023

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“Let depression get depressed because of me”: a diary of a losing weight

Komsomolskaya Pravda

SportInteresnoe

Olga VEDERNIKOVA

November 26, 2022 4:00

Komsomolskaya Pravda publishes the diary of a Siberian Transformation project participant. Part 3.

The editor of the Altai "Komsomolskaya Pravda" is among those who decided to lose weight. Photo: Olga VEDERNIKOVA

The 10th anniversary season of the transforming project "Siberian Transformation" is taking place in Barnaul, in which more than 200 people participate. For almost three months they are on a diet and train in the gym under the guidance of experienced mentors. Very soon, all participants will have to take the stage and demonstrate their result. The editor of the Altai "Komsomolskaya Pravda" is among those who decided to lose weight. Goal - minus 8 kg. Today we publish the continuation of her diary as a participant in the project. The beginning can be read here.

***

Results of two months in the project: minus 7 kg of live weight, 8 cm in the waist and, alas, one size in the chest. So I will disappoint everyone who believes that in the gym with the help of strength exercises you can pump up a woman's breasts. Male - yes, but not female . ..

- Women's breasts are glandular and adipose tissue that cannot be pumped up. And when losing weight, it is fat that goes away, so the chest is blown away, ”says my coach, bronze medalist of Russia in bodybuilding Irina Krasnikova. - At the same time, thanks to training, you can well strengthen the pectoral muscles, give the chest a more aesthetic and athletic shape, and visually “raise” it.

***

I continue to dry - I remind you that this is when there are practically no carbohydrates and fats in the diet. What do I eat? Fish, fish and more fish. Eggs, eggs and more eggs. And also green vegetables and sometimes chicken. So that the body does not become completely sad, I drink vitamins.

Very soon the participants will have to go on stage and demonstrate their results. And at times like these, the support of loved ones is more important than ever. No, they don't have to diet with you, it's your choice. It's not about that at all.

“I hope I don't get depressed,” I complain to my family about my carbohydrate-free life. To which my beloved husband said: “You can’t have depression. It is depression that can get depressed from your activity and optimism! And I believed in myself again. With the right person by your side, you begin to love yourself more.

***

In the morning such a flat stomach that even breakfast is a pity. Pants and jeans dangle, had to buy new ones. Pleasant spending, I tell you...

***

At a meeting of our group with a trainer, male participants complain that they have become less able to think due to a lack of carbohydrates. So far, this fate has passed me by. Although, maybe I just don't notice from the outside...

***

Some participants begin to break down due to drying. As a rule, for sweets - either I accidentally ate a gingerbread, or suddenly one wrapper remained from the candy. As my coach says, the reason for this is a hungry head, not a stomach. What to do in such cases?

The first advice from Irina Krasnikova:

- If you really want to eat something, take a small piece of boiled chicken breast, an egg or a cucumber. Place on a large plate and cut into small pieces. Start eating, but do it slowly, chewing each bite as long as possible. The fact is that our brain reacts to food with a slight delay, and the feeling of fullness comes about 20 minutes after eating. Therefore, you need to stretch the meal for this time, without increasing the amount of food eaten.

The second tip from Irina Krasnikova:

- In moments of longing for sweets, you can use a protein shake. They are available in small packs for a single serving. Therefore, it is good to have a sachet of protein in your purse - if necessary, it can be diluted with water or milk at any time. This will save you from feeling hungry and will not want to eat up.

Very soon the participants will take the stage and demonstrate their results. Photo: Olga VEDERNIKOVA

***

In the chat chat, the Transformation participants again raised the topic of motivation:

- I am motivated by a little black dress: so that when I wear it, there is a waist, not sides.

- My motivation is that none of my motorcycle suits fit...

And I also remembered a case when, after several bottles of champagne at a corporate party, I made a bet with my colleague: in three months she should lose 13 kg. If she loses, she gives me a gold piece, if she wins, it means beautiful. And this motivated her very much - she lost weight and won the argument! Now everything is so beautiful. And you can do it too, and you don’t have to say that you naturally have a wide bone. Nonsense. Slash for money, and for a decent amount, and you will see that it will be easier to part with excess weight than with money, since there is no extra money ...

For me personally, the most powerful motivation is going on stage at the finale of Siberian Transformation. Yes, the final result may not be perfect, but my main principle is: "Today I must become better than I was yesterday." And with every day of transformation I go to this. And I see that there is a result, which means that everything is not in vain. When you see the result, you begin to love your challenges. Even if they once seemed like torment.

***

Support and example of mentors also play a very important role. I asked the organizer of the Siberian Transformation, vice-world champion in bodybuilding Alexander Barbashin, how he manages to keep himself in a very cool shape all the time.

- When the diet ceases to be a "feat and pride", when the understanding comes that it is "seriously and forever" - then the result comes, and at the same time "breakdowns and tantrums" disappear. Deviations from proper nutrition - for example, sweets, I allow myself extremely rarely. When preparing for competitions, everything should be clear and tough. Breaking is not an option at all. If I set a goal, I must achieve it. I’d rather torture myself for three months as much as you say, but get the maximum result, than give myself indulgence and get an average result, and then I myself will engage in self-discipline because I didn’t finish it somewhere, didn’t finish it, fell for weakness. I sincerely believe in everyone, everyone can set the maximum goal and get the maximum amount of bonuses for themselves in this project.

***

By the way, bonuses are not only about a toned body. I noticed that when I started eating right, I removed sweets, fast foods, soda from the diet, my skin became much cleaner, smoother and better.

***

If you think you don't have enough willpower, look at the participant of the 10th season of Siberian Transformation Sasha Barinov. This guy is participating in the project despite the fact that he has a prosthesis instead of one leg. And this does not stop him ... And then what is stopping you so far?

- In 2017, I had an accident and lost my leg. It was quite a difficult situation. Now I have a hip prosthesis, - Sasha told me. - To keep the muscles in good shape, physical activity is simply necessary, otherwise the gait will “jump” - one shoulder is higher, the other is lower. There can be no self-pity and indulgence. And I need to keep the weight normal, otherwise it is very difficult. That's why I went to the project. By the way, I have already lost 9 kg. I go further.

***

Here's a cool example for you too. Participant Tatyana Bortnikova 59years. And she is also in the project! Because a real woman is born to worry, and not to worry about the fact that something will not work out for her.

- My daughter and son-in-law participated in the eighth season of Siberian Transformation. I looked at them, got inspired and thought - why don't I go? I also want to be in good shape! I see a purpose, but I do not see obstacles! - says Tatyana.

By the way, in the last season of the project, a 73-year-old woman participated, who was not afraid to go on stage in a swimsuit in the final. Such a beauty! You look and think - that's how I would look like at her age! And that's a great motivation too.

To be continued….

READ ALSO

“Eat naked and in front of a mirror”: how to motivate yourself to lose weight

Komsomolskaya Pravda publishes the diary of a Siberian Transformation project participant. Part 1 (more details)

Read also

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