According to a 2025 study, one in 10 Americans experienced a mental health crisis in the past year. This statistic is particularly alarming, as the term “mental health crisis” is defined most often as a state in which an individual presents a risk to themselves or others. Preventing immediate harm is vital to responding to a crisis, but exclusively focusing on this aspect can minimize the inherently personal ways in which people experience their mental health and perceive symptoms of a mental health crisis. Understanding that each person’s experience of a mental health crisis is unique highlights the importance of flexible response systems that can help people with a range of needs.
Mental health crisis experiences are nuanced
A mental health crisis is not a clinical diagnosis listed in the guidebook clinicians use to diagnose mental illnesses, which means there is no definitive list of symptoms or specific behaviors that describes it. The ways in which people describe their feelings during mental health crises reflect this. People often report feeling “low” or in despair; feeling “high,” agitated, or manic; or a combination of both. These feelings can begin gradually or rapidly. Generally, people in crisis experience a decline in functioning, whether at work, at home, or in social interactions. Because the signs of a crisis are varied and may only be apparent in certain parts of a person’s life, it may not always be obvious to the individual or those around them.
It is possible to experience a mental health crisis with or without a history of mental illness. Even for people with a history of mental illness, their pre-existing mental illness may not be the direct cause of a mental health crisis. For example, the unexpected death of a loved one might be enough to cause a person with or without a mental illness to experience a mental health crisis. In fact, one analysis noted that mental health crises often begin as the result of negative life events or environmental or lifestyle changes. These can include interpersonal challenges, economic or lifestyle disruptions, seasonal changes in light patterns, sleep deprivation, and more. While there are often multiple contributing factors, an initial destabilizing event can result in behavior changes that adversely affect other areas of a person’s life, creating a “vicious spiral.”
Policy can build systems that support people before, during, and after a crisis
Although some people experiencing a crisis manage the situation independently, many need outside support. They may turn to their social network, existing relationships with mental healthcare providers, or the emergency department; however, these may not be available or sufficient.
To provide guidance to state, tribal, and local leaders seeking to improve crisis services, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) released the 2025 National Guidelines for a Behavioral Health Coordinated System of Crisis Care. This document breaks crisis care into three essential components to ensure care is accessible along a continuum that can respond to any type of mental health crisis: 1) “someone to contact,” 2) “someone to respond,” and 3) “a safe place for help.”
These components give people multiple ways to seek help depending on their immediate needs and comfort level with seeking care. From federal policies that established the crisis and suicide lifeline to states allocating funding to crisis receiving and stabilization facilities and mobile crisis teams, governments are taking an active role in developing responsive systems for addressing crisis situations. Despite improvements, the fact that individual Americans, their loved ones, and our communities still struggle to prevent and address mental health crises suggests lawmakers can do more to improve care for people experiencing (or at risk of experiencing) a mental health crisis.
In addition to building systems and facilities that offer care during the acute phase of a crisis, policymakers can’t forget that people often need access to ongoing care after their mental health crisis subsides. Policies that expand access to mental healthcare by making it easier to afford or obtain can help people get care before their mental health declines to the point of a crisis or after utilizing crisis services. Improving overall mental well-being can also help build resilience, which is vital to coping with stress and adversity. In many cases, policy sets the stage for people to live stable, prosperous, and healthy lives by ensuring they can meet their basic needs. This base of stability and opportunity can reduce chronic stress, which is important because stress is associated with poor mental health.
A person experiencing a mental health crisis can have a range of symptoms and support needs. Policies that seek to build systems to address them should be able to respond to this diversity and meet the needs of individuals before, during, and after a crisis.
