The TELL Lifeline is an English-language support service. While suicide prevention is a major aim, TELL’s website states, “Whatever is troubling you, we are here to listen.” It was established in 1973 as a member of the Inochi-no-Denwa (Japanese Lifeline) federation and is run by volunteers. Skorji has been working for over 15 years at TELL in a variety of roles, but is now the director of the Lifeline.
Why do people call the Lifeline?
We take calls on absolutely everything. Our volunteers may take calls for suicide, domestic violence, or rape. But the most common type of call we get is either loneliness or somebody dealing with anxiety or depression. People also face issues with cultural adjustment, relationships, and the workplace.
Is this service for foreign residents?
It grew out of the need for services to support the foreign population, but fifty percent of our callers are Japanese who speak in English. That changeover happened around 2003 when the suicide rate was so high. Perhaps they went overseas and came back. They might be biracial. They might have a partner who is foreign. They might have English language skills and feel that if they speak to a foreign lifeline, we might have a better acceptance of their struggles. They might feel it’s less shameful to speak to us than maybe to speak to another Japanese person.
How do people train to volunteer for the Lifeline?
It takes about five months before volunteers can go on the line by themselves. They undertake initial training and then we provide support for a couple of months. In 2017 we expanded to offer chat. Chat operates on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights until 2am. One thing we noticed with chat is that we get a different demographic of users. We not only train our people how to work on the Lifeline, but also how to work with chat as well.
Are the Lifeline workers people who have a background in psychology or mental health care?
No, they’re all volunteers. I have about 110 volunteers. Some might have had a background in mental health or maybe they are pursuing that career path. They come from all sorts of backgrounds.
Please tell us more about your background and training.
My background is in psychology and neuropsychology. But when I moved to Asia over 20 years ago, I couldn’t keep up my license and let that go. My specialty was acquired brain functioning so I could do assessments for somebody who had a stroke or dementia or a head injury. I got a masters in counseling and practiced that for a number of years. Then I worked as a therapist that covered behavioral work. I’ve worked with people who struggled with surviving incest or rape. Now I manage the Lifeline. I also give talks in the community on anything from stress management to mental health issues in the workplace and in the schools.
What are some tips for maintaining mental wellbeing?
There are many things we can do to stay resilient: quality sleep, diet, exercise. We often downplay them, but keeping ourselves physically healthy is really important. Life doesn’t run smoothly all the time. Learning to manage stress is really essential. When it comes to mental illness, I don’t think that we understand stress so well and I don’t think we plan for managing stress and understanding its impact on our bodies. We need more coping strategies in place–maybe you do yoga, you have hobbies, you don’t watch the TV on the weekend. Whatever you do that gives you down time is really important. But some of us are going to be more vulnerable to mental illness than others. Understanding mental illness and if we are vulnerable–understanding what anxiety looks like and managing it early is important.
Where should understanding start?
One in four of us will experience a mental health problem. Fifty percent of all mental illnesses have their onset before the age of fourteen. Seventy-five percent have their onset before twenty-four. Yet how many parents understand what mental illness looks like? You read books on how to provide a healthy diet and how to make sure your child has the right education, but mental health is critical, too, right? Parents need to understand what that looks like. If your child is struggling with a condition, getting help early is essential. Research says that most kids don’t tell their parents for a year or more. Imagine if we had a mental illness and we didn’t do anything about it for a year or more–what impact would that have on us? If there’s anything we can do as a society it’s learning to recognize what illness looks like and understanding what good treatment is. It’s not just doing those generic things like managing stress or getting the right sleep. It’s also understanding when you need to get help.
Is loneliness a mental health issue?
Loneliness is not a mental illness just like stress is not. But these are things that can make you vulnerable to getting a mental illness. There are a lot of elderly in Japan, and many of them are isolated and lonely. There are foreigners that are scattered all around the country and they’ve become very isolated and lonely. The danger is that you don’t have people to talk to. You can become quite vulnerable to getting depressed. On our line we get people who are lonely and we ask, ‘How can we get them engaged again in the community? What are some other ways that they can find people they can communicate with or feel valued by?’
What can you share about coping with the Coronavirus?
One thing we know is that many people are going to feel a heightened level of stress. Our day-to-day functioning and routines are all altered. Maybe you’re not working in your office anymore, or maybe your kids are not going to school. Maybe some people are part-time workers, they’re not getting their income, and they’re really worried about their finances. Many foreigners in Japan are thinking,‘How long is this going to last? How long can I stay here?’ I’d like people to know that it’s normal to feel anxious, but try not to look at the news all the time. Try to find some accurate resources read. We’ve got a list of a few of those on our website. It helps to talk to someone. You can call our Lifeline or chat with us on the weekends. Another important thing is that if somebody you know gets ill, check in on them, check how they’re going. Maybe you can’t go inside and visit them, but maybe you can drop some food off. I think it’s really important that we look after each other as well.
Thank you Vickie, we will!
In addition to TELL’s Lifeline, the organization has a clinic in Yokohama that offers a variety of services (counseling, assessments for children, etc.). It also runs programs and workshops in the city. Note that TELL is a non-profit and operates through donations and fund-raising activities. For more information, please visit: telljp.com
**TELL is maintaining full operations during the current COVID-19 situation. The website also has a list of resources and support services TELL can connect people with.