High School with Newt

Chapter Zero

I've seen comments on this story and a few others from readers who are struggling with mental health issues and it was wrong of me to write a story like this and not provide resources for readers to receive help if they would like.

please know that I have not personally received help from any of these resources. please tell me if there is a problem with any of these and I will do my best to replace it with a more helpful website/hotline or if you can suggest another helpful resource.

national suicide prevention line:
1-800-273-8255
(they have trained responders available 24/7 who can provide counseling and refer you to other mental health professionals. all calls are confidential.)

national domestic violence hotline:
1-800-799-7233
(24/7 confidential help for anyone experiencing domestic violence, looking for information, or questioning unhealthy aspects of their relationship.)

crisis text line:
text HOME to 741741 (if in the US)
(free, 24/7 help from a trained professional. all responders are volunteers.)

there are also a ton of other online resources where you don't have to actually talk to someone. support can be as general or as specific as you need. these are a couple of free resources:

http://www.crisischat.org/
(immediately available chatrooms for anyone "who is depressed, despairing, going through a hard time [or] just needs to talk" between 2 pm and 2 am. asks for name and age (which you can make up) and may request your phone number (won't be shared) which is necessary if you lose your chat connection or your life appears in imminent danger.)

http://www.healthfulchat.org/mental-health-chat-rooms.html
(variety of chat rooms that encourage conversation with those who have had similar experiences rather than trained professionals. I've also heard it makes book suggestions based on the chat room you are in, but I have yet to see that feature.)

there are also websites where you can pay to talk to a professional therapist/counselor. I didn't include any of those because I know wattpads demographic and the demographic for those who read my stories and I didn't think it would be as helpful as free sites, but please message me if I can help you find one because there are many benefits to a paid professional as well as free professionals and peer help.

please do get help if you need it. when I wrote all of these stories I was in a bad place. I (very reluctantly) got help from my friends, family, and a few paid professionals and now I'm able to call myself a happy person. I do still have bad days, but I also have so many good ones.

if you aren't comfortable going to one of the places I mentioned, please feel free to message me. I'm not a trained professional, but in my experience talking to anyone is helpful.

please remember that these stories are fictional and are intended to be a safe outlet for mental/physical struggles.