Discord is Helping Users That Intend Self Harm in Messages

Discord is finally working on getting people the help they might need. Messages containing self-harm intents can to Discord where they give out the necessary help that is needed for the concerned user.

Let's learn more about it in detail.

Get Help Now - Text a Mental Health Crisis Counselor

With this upcoming feature, users that need to seek mental help immediately will be pointed to right direction by Discord. Let's talk about how exactly it will be seen by the user.

We know how you can report messages for spam, scam, or anything of the sort. By the time this update is live you will be able to report messages that contain 'self-harm' topics. If you see someone on Discord mentioning these topics, they are in immediate need to talk to a mental counselor. And you can get them the required help through Discord.

Once you report messages with such intents, Discord will send the user this alert. Check the first screenshot for a look into the alert message itself.

Reddit's RedditCares Resource

A similar and helpful (minus the abuse) system is set up by Reddit. Users can report comments with self harm intents and Reddit will notify the user that help is available. RedditCares message goes like this:

Hi there,

A concerned redditor reached out to us about you.

When you're in the middle of something painful, it may feel like you don't have a lot of options. But whatever you're going thrOugh, you deserve help and there are people who are here for you.

There are resources available in your area that are free, confidential, and available 24/7:

• Call, Text, or Chat with Canada's Crisis Services Canada
• Call, Email, or Visit the UK's Samaritans
• Text CHAT to America's Crisis Text Line at 741741

If you don't see a resource in your area above, the moderators at r/SuicideWatch keep a comprehensive list of resources and hotlines for people organized by location.

If you think you may be depressed or struggling in another way, don't ignore it or brush it aside. Take yourself and your feelings seriously, and reach out to someone.

It may not feel like it, but you have options. There are people available to listen to you, and ways to move forward. Your fellow redditors care about you and there are people who want to help.

If you've gotten this message in error or think that someone may be using Reddit Care Resources to bully or harass you, reply "STOP" to this message to stop receiving messages from u/RedditCareResources and report the abuse. You can also report this message by clicking the report button if you're on the web, or tapping the... menu and selecting Report if you're on your phone.

Thoughts?

Personally, it's a step in the right direction. People need someone to talk to sometime, people need the help that they deserve.

This feature is still in development. In its current state, we have two things to say:

• We hope the Helplines are localized or international anonymous help is provided to help as many people as possible.
• We hope Discord acknowledge the spam and abuse this might bring. Like Reddit, we hope they let us report the abuse of this help system.

What are your thoughts on this? Let us know.

That's all for today, hope you enjoyed today's article. Make sure to join our official Discord server to discuss further on this topic or suggest new articles!