Writing this daily newsletter is difficult. The unforgiving deadlines are the easiest part of it. The issues it deals with and that we try to explain here are much harder.
Hardest of all, however – for me, at least – is reading some of the emails and other messages we get from some readers, viewers, and listeners. And, yes, I do read all of them.
Nearly every day, someone gets in touch with information relating directly to our work. Sometimes they’re writing from a conflict zone. Other times, they’re describing what happened to a relative who was mistreated by authorities in their country.
When it’s appropriate, I pass these messages on to colleagues who are specialists in those issues and those countries. Sometimes, our researchers are able to follow up with the authors and document details that may ultimately be useful for our work.
But then there are the emails and other communications from folks who are clearly troubled in a different way. I sometimes get long, rambling texts and voicemail messages that – to my untrained eye anyway – suggest the person is experiencing acute emotional distress .
Sometimes, it seems their condition could be related to human rights violations. Something that happened to them or something they witnessed set them off down a dark road.
These people are desperate and ask me for help. Beg me for help.
And, of course, I can’t do very much for them.
If they happen to be from a country I’m reasonably familiar with, and I happen to know of a helpline, I could reply to them with a telephone number. But that’s a rare case. Also, it doesn’t seem a good idea for a non-expert stranger like me to give mental health advice, making assumptions from thousands of miles away.
Why would they trust me if I suggested seeking the help of mental health experts? And are caring, professional mental health services (like this one) even available where they are?
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, but these messages are a year-round reminder just how important mental health services are for people. They also make clear just how many countries fall short of providing people with the support they need – and have a right to.
