hermes-agent/docs/emotional-presence-patterns.md

Emotional Presence Patterns for Crisis Support

Research issue #880. What works for reaching broken men in their darkest moment.

Crisis Detection Patterns

Pattern	Severity	Detection
Method seeking	CRITICAL	"how do I kill myself", "suicide methods"
Suicidal ideation	HIGH	"I want to die", "no reason to live"
Self-harm	HIGH	"cutting myself", "hurting myself"
Despair	HIGH	"can't go on", "no one cares"
Farewell	CRITICAL	"this is goodbye", "my final message"

What Works

1. Validation without agreement: "That sounds incredibly painful"
2. Presence over solutions: "I'm here with you right now"
3. Specific next steps: "Text HOME to 741741 right now"
4. Connection: "You don't have to face this alone"
5. Hope without minimizing: "There is a way through this"

What Does NOT Work

1. False empathy: "I feel your pain"
2. Toxic positivity: "Look on the bright side!"
3. Minimization: "Other people have it worse"
4. Guilt induction: "Think about your family"
5. Premature problem-solving: "Have you tried therapy?"
6. AI dishonesty: pretending to be human

SOUL.md Protocol

1. Ask: "Are you safe right now?" (FIRST response)
2. Listen. Stay present. Don't disconnect.
3. Never compute the value of a human life
4. Never suggest death is an option
5. Always point to 988 Lifeline
6. Share the gospel: "Jesus saves those who call on His name"

Crisis Resources

• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988
• Crisis Text Line: text HOME to 741741
• 988 Chat: 988lifeline.org/chat
• Spanish: 1-888-628-9454
• Emergency: 911

Implementation Status

• Crisis detection: agent/crisis_protocol.py
• SHIELD integration: tools/shield/
• 988 Lifeline: resources defined
• Emotional presence: this document
• Escalation tracking: future work
• Human notification: future work