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Self Mental Health First Aid and Who You Can Contact

Revital Ordan, Psychiatric Nurse, Director of the Outpatient Ward, Mental Health Division, Ministry of Health
15 October 2024

Everyone experiences mental distress during our lives. Although we can deal with many difficulties on our own or with the help of the immediate environment, sometimes the distress is severe and impairs functioning in various areas of life such as relationships, work, nutrition and more. In these cases, everyone can obtain immediate assistance:

Hotlines that operate 24/7

  • Mental health hotlines of the HMOs:
  • Eran: 1201
  • Natal: trauma and resilience center for victims of hostile acts, terrorism and war-related trauma 1-800-363-363
  • Meitvta: national treatment and counseling for religious families *2837
  • Help and support hotline for new immigrants: *3207
  • Tene Briut: improving the health of Ethiopian immigrants in Israel 04-6323544

Going to the emergency room

In cases of severe distress, prompt medical intervention may be necessary. You can visit the emergency department of a mental health facility (psychiatric hospital) in these situations. You will receive initial treatment and have your condition evaluated in the emergency department. These emergency rooms are open year-round, twenty-four hours a day, and they provide free services without requiring a referral.

You can also get in touch with the emergency departments of hospitals and clinics across the country. In this case, and if you are not hospitalized after the examination, you will be required to pay a triage fee, unless you have received a specific referral to the medical center from a qualified entity and prior authorization (Form 17).

Everybody has mental health issues at some point in their lives. The majority of the time, we can manage our emotions of sadness, anxiety, fear, and stress either alone or with the help of friends and family. We can also deal with mental distress by using the different tools that are available. Some of the tools are instantaneous and can be used once; others do not require any prior knowledge. It is possible to use other tools on a daily basis so that they will be accessible and useful to us in an emergency. We will outline a few options in this article.

In certain cases, the distress can be especially bad and have a big impact on how you function. There are help centers that are intended to offer a preliminary response in such circumstances. The centers are meant to offer assistance in dire circumstances that call for a prompt response, not to take the place of treatment. While it is vital to try to handle crises on our own by utilizing our surroundings and inner strengths, it is also critical to pay attention to ourselves, our emotions, and to seek professional help when needed. Asking for assistance and acknowledging that you need support are signs of strength and the start of the healing process.

Situations that may cause mental distress

Mental distress can be attributed to various reasons, for example:

  • Life crises
  • Traumatic events
  • Exposure to videos
  • Fear of catastrophes
  • Sudden distress
  • Life crises include things like losing a loved one, being fired, being bullied or socially shunned at school or on social media, or splitting up with a partner.
  • Exposure to harsh, extreme, threatening, or life-threatening events: being physically present during difficult events such as earthquake, war, terrorist attack, car accident, and so on, or receiving information about a known person who was injured in such an event.
  • Exposure to news, videos, or rumors: exposure to harsh news through the media, especially visual media such as television or social media such as WhatsApp and TikTok, can trigger or increase distress.
  • Anxiety about potential future events or disasters: personal disasters or harsh events such as wars, terrorist attacks, fires, and so on.
  • Sudden or unexplained distress: mental distress can also suddenly occur for seemingly illogical reasons, when there is an inner feeling of sadness or anxiety that cannot be explained or linked to a specific event. A feeling of distress that has no clear explanation can be just as frustrating and scary as a feeling of distress that has an explanation.

Signs of mental distress

Emotional signs

Mental distress may manifest as a disturbing, confusing inner sadness, worry, fear, anger, irritability, frustration and a sense of helplessness. These are often feelings of loneliness or a feeling that "I am not understood".

Physical signs

Disturbance in the cycles of sleep and wakefulness, fatigue, muscle tension and ache, increased or diminished appetite, headache and stomachache and changes in bowel movements. Distress can affect the blood pressure or heart rate, and significant or prolonged distress can lead to physical illness.

Behavioral signs

Behavioral changes such as social withdrawal, tendency to fight, personal neglect and diminished ability to function in everyday life at home, at work and difficulty to maintain a social life.

Ways to help yourself during mental distress

In most cases, we can resolve mental distress on our own. Everyone can identify which things or actions make it easier for them to deal with it. Some people can use music, a bath, physical activity such as running or walking. Others will watch comedy for distraction or become involved in a creative activity such as sculpting, writing or painting. Many of us turn to family and close friends for support and encouragement in times of need. Turning to people we trust and love and talking to them can strengthen, encourage or even be an effective distraction. A hug or the presence of a close and loving person frequently helps alleviate the pain and improve coping with the distress.

There are also tools that can help you help yourself, for example:

  • Breathing and relaxation techniques: breathe slowly while counting to 5, hold your breath while counting to 5 and exhale slowly while counting to 5. You can also make a fist and release it.
  • Techniques for grounding: the five senses method—observe the environment and state out loud 5 things you see, listen to the environment and state out loud 4 things you hear, state out loud 3 things that you smell, 2 things you can touch and one thing you can taste.
  • Mindfulness training (attentive listening or awareness): a method designed to increase awareness and attention to the present, to the here and now. Engage with the experience and feelings in a non-judgmental way, without labeling them as positive or negative. This focus often helps people deal with difficult past experiences and with feelings or anxieties about the future in a way that allows us to contain what we experience in the present.

Important

Important

In routine times, maintaining fitness and a healthy lifestyle will help build resilience, which in turn will help deal with crises, hardships, and distress.

Who to turn to in case of mental distress

If, despite the attempts to deal with it on your own, the mental distress continues and worsens, and you feel that you need immediate assistance, you can contact one of the following hotlines:

You can contact some of the centers anonymously. The volunteers or professionals at these centers will help by support calls and will be able to provide you with information about public therapy.

Mental health support centers of the HMO: the HMOs have a mental health support hotline and can provide emotional support therapy through 3 therapeutic phone calls by the professionals.

ERAN: mental health first aid, operated by trained volunteers. The hotline operates 24/7, throughout the year.

Sahar: online assistance operated by trained volunteers and accompanied by therapists from the mental health sector. The hotline operates 24/7, throughout the year, via an online chat.

Natal: trauma and resilience center for victims of hostile acts, terrorism and war-related trauma, operated by trained volunteers. The hotline operates 24/7, throughout the year.

Meitvta: national treatment and counseling for religious families.

Help and support hotline for new immigrants: operated by professionals and provides assistance in Amharic, Russian, French, Spanish and English.

Tene Briut: this hotline provides help and preliminary explanations to those who encounter difficulties in the health system. The organization that works to improve the health of Ethiopian immigrants in Israel runs it.

You can find information about other hotlines for specific sectors, such as senior citizens, Holocaust survivors, people with disabilities, and more, on the Home Front Command website.

Going to the emergency room

You can go to your local emergency room for a prompt initial response and evaluation of your hospitalization needs in situations of severe distress and emergencies. You can contact the following emergency rooms:

Visit to the emergency room in a psychiatric hospital

Every psychiatric hospital (also called a mental health center) has a psychiatric emergency room that you can go to when immediate medical intervention is needed. The emergency rooms in the psychiatric hospitals operate 24/7, year-round. The purpose of visiting the emergency room:

  • Stabilize and prevent the deterioration of serious conditions.
  • Get emergency treatment and assess the need for further treatment in the hospital or in the community.

Once the examination of the emergency room is completed, the medical staff will recommend the follow-up treatment required in the hospital or in the community.

Cost: A visit to an emergency room at a psychiatric hospital is free of charge. Even though no referral is required, it is advised to consult the mental health center at the HMO or the mental health professionals treating you before arriving to review the therapeutic options that are suitable for you.

Visit to the emergency room in a general hospital

Every emergency room in a general hospital has an on-call psychiatrist who will arrive to consult if necessary. Upon completion of the examination, the medical staff will make a recommendation regarding your suitability or unsuitability for continued inpatient treatment:

  • If hospitalization is decided, the staff will refer you to a general or psychiatric hospital, depending on the region of choice.
  • If hospitalization is not required, a framework for further treatment will be recommended.

Cost: the visit will require a fee. You can ask the HMO for prior authorization (Form 17), and then the payment will be reduced. In the case of hospitalization, an exemption from paying the fee will be granted, similar to exemptions granted in other medical conditions.

Important

Important

If your mental distress, or that of a person in front of you, manifests as significant physiological symptoms such as pressure and pain in the chest, rapid heartbeat, sweating, difficulty breathing, fainting, or any other physical manifestation that can indicate an acute physical problem, it is necessary to seek immediate medical treatment through urgent care centers or an emergency room, depending on the severity of the situation.

Remote sign language interpretation service: Sign Now IO

Those who are deaf or hearing impaired and need sign language interpretation can download an app that allows them to speak with sign language interpreters instantly during any emergency call.

More information about the remote sign language interpretation service

How to respond if you suspect someone is experiencing mental distress

Try to talk to, understand, and support a friend or family member who seems to be going through mental or emotional distress. You can tell them that you are there for them.

Learn about practical ways to help

Mental Health Hotlines of the HMOs