For anyone who's feeling down, depressed or passing through a rough time, read this. Free mental health support, drug addiction support, LGBTQI+ support, domestic abuse support, and children support resources included.

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In September 2019, one month before the thawra, I wrote a post titled For anyone who's feeling down, depressed or passing through a rough time, read this. This post ended up being one of the most read posts on our subreddit.

Time passed and the world turned darker with economical, societal and global problems. This is a follow up post to remind everyone that even in the darkest time, hope is still there.

For people who are unemployed or have a lot of free time, be careful not to fall into depression. Finding a job is important, but so is taking care of your mental health. There are a couple of things you can do to boost your mental state and cope with the difficult time you're dealing with.

Some statistics about suicide:

• Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death among 15-29 years old
• Suicide takes more lives every year than war and homicide together
• In Lebanon, 20% of adolescents ages 13 to 15 have considered suicide
• In Lebanon, 1 person dies every 2 days to suicide
• In Lebanon, 1 person attempts suicide every 6 hours

You can call Embrace on 1564

What is Embrace Life Line?

Embrace Life Line is a service you can call to get emotional support during a difficult phase you're passing through. You do not have to be suicidal to call this number. They provide support for suicidal people and people passing through rough patches of life.

Is calling the Embrace Life Line free of charge?

Embrace tried to offer their services for free but until this day the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Telecommunication did not approve their request, citing technical problems. To bypass this, Embrace offers call back. If you can't afford to call them or don't want to use your units, then call the line and ask them to call you back.

Only suicidal people call Embrace hotline?

No. Even though it's called suicide hotline, Embrace welcomes calls that aren't from suicidal people, but from people who are feeling stressed, depressed or passing through a rough time. If you're passing through a difficult time and don't have anyone to share with, or do not want to share with anyone in your life, call Embrace.

I am doing ok, but my friend/sibling/child is passing through a rough time, what should I do?

Embrace also provide 3rd party support. You can call this number and ask for help if your son, daughter, brother, sister or close friend is passing through a rough time or if they're suicidal.

Embrace will provide you with information about how to help them improve. It's ok to ask for help. Reach out if you or a loved one needs help. Help is always available.

Can I call Embrace hotline from outside Lebanon?

You can reach Embrace hotline from outside Lebanon on +961 1 341 941

Can Embrace provide financial support?

No, it's an emotional and mental health support service. They do not provide any financial support.

What Can I Do If I Am Passing Through A Rough Time?

1. First and most important thing is do any kind of sports or activity. Don't stay home. You don't have to have a gym membership, simply walking around your block, walking near the sea or in your street is enough. Spend at least 20 minutes walking around. Getting out of the house for few minutes each day is important for your sanity.
2. Second, shave and shower. I know this might sound ridiculous, but people in a bad mental state completely neglect their hygiene and fail to notice how badly it's affecting them. I know you feel like shit, force yourself to go into the bathroom and shower. It will help you.
3. Third, actively look for jobs. Recheck your CV, ask family and friends to check it. Use this subreddit to check your CV r/resumes/ and ask people for improvements there. Search for jobs on Facebook groups, on OLX, hire websites and by contacting people you know. It might take months to find one, but the only way you're going to find one is if you continue on searching. If you give up, you'll stay in this state for a long time. No one will come a present you with the perfect job when you're sitting on your bed not doing anything. Check https://jobs.rlebanon.com we post jobs regularly there. You can always consider teaching languages online, check If you're unemployed and good in languages, you can make money through italki .
4. Forth, during your free time, try to improve your skills. Learn something new. There are thousands of websites giving infinite knowledge for free. Check Websites that can help you find a job, improve your skills, build your CVs, and prepare for interviews!They all offer thousands of FREE courses online. Once you learn and improve a skill, you can get an online certificate with it and add it to your CV. These new skills might lead you to new job opportunities that are much better than you had before.
5. If you have a lot of free time and you're searching for new opportunities and experiences, consider volunteering. Volunteering gives us a purpose and drives us to become better humans. Helping others creates more satisfaction for us than whoever we're helping. To learn more about volunteering, read this: List of NGOs and organization that are worth volunteering for! Make a difference in someone's life. Make a difference in the world.
6. Talk to people. We are allowed to share our failures. We are allowed to feel like shit. We are allowed to cry. Only when you admit you're feeling bad, and having a difficult time, that you can move forward and try to improve yourself. Talk to a family member, or a close friend. If you don't have or don't want to share such a private thing with someone close, talk to people online. You can post on these subreddits for example
   r/offmychest
   /r/depression
   /r/productivity
   /r/GetMotivated
   /r/selfimprovement
   /You can call Embrase on 1564 from any landline or cell phone in Lebanon. Their operators are extremely well trained and can help you deal with what you're passing through. You don't have to be suicidal.Share your problems, and say whats on your mind and in your heart. You won't receive a magical answer that will make everything better, but sharing will start the healing process. You have nothing to lose, and a lot to gain. I'll gladly read and communicate with anyone who wants to PM privately any time. We can help each other pass through rough times always.
7. Finally, suicide is never the answer. Suicide is a permanent action for a temporary problem you're facing. Whatever problem you're facing right now, you will probably get over it with patience and work. If you think no one loves you, take a few minutes and read posts on reddit talking about suicide and how it affected people. Some of the posts can be found here and r/SuicideBereavement/ . You can check more resources on https://13reasonswhy.info/
8. If you want anonymous help on reddit, you can post on r/SuicideWatch/ or You can also call 1564, it is the number for the suicide hotline in Lebanon
9. Reddit resources list for mental health

Free Mental health resources 

Mental Health Support:

• Embrace Suicide and Emotional Support Hotline: 1564
• Embrace Mental Health Center: +961-81/003 870
• Idraac free therapy sessions: +961-03/730 475
• Blue mission mental health support: +961-07/732 636 or +961-78/965 062

Drug addiction support:

• SIDC mental health support for LGBTQI, women, people living with HIV, and people who are using drugs: +961-76/028 221
• CDLL youth cap for drug addictions: +961-71/446 746
• Skoun hotline for drug addictions: +961-78/824 730

LGBTQI+ Support:

• LGBTQI+ Support Tayf: +961-81/273 763
• LGBTQI+ Support Proud: +961-76/608 205
• LGBTQI+ Support Helem: +961-71/916 146
• LGBTQI+ Support MOSAIC: +961-76/945 445 or +961-01/395 445

Domestic Abuse support:

• Kafa Hotline for sexual and gender based violence, domestic abuse: +961-03/018 019
• 'Choice' program for violent men to seek help: +961-81/665 532
• Abaad Mental health support for men: +961-71/283 820
• Abaad hotline for victims of domestic abuse: +961-81/788 178

Children support:

• Himaya hotline for child abuse: +961-03/414 964