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212 people here right now · 38 talking with a peer · 1,904 skills used today Sample

Cope or Die. Real help for addiction and mental health, from people who have been there.

We’ve been there.

Talk to someone like youCalm down in 2 minutesI’m in crisis
Cope or Die, painted in white and red

Start where you are

33coping skills, step by step
25conditions in plain English
24substances explained
17insurance carriers decoded
50states, one honest directory

Right now

Talk with someone just like you.

Three taps. No intake form, no sales call. You get matched with a real person who has been through the same thing and came out the other side.

  • Same substance, same situation, same stage
  • Text, call or video. Your choice
  • Peers, not salespeople. Nobody is paid for where you end up

1 What are you dealing with?

2 Who do you want to hear from?

3 How do you want to talk?

Finding someone who has been exactly here…

You are matched with TJ Sample match

In recovery. Has been where you are: this.

“Hey. No script, no pitch. Tell me what today looked like.”

Start talking

Demo preview. On the live site this opens a real conversation with a real person. Peers are not therapists. In an emergency call 911 or 988.

The Library

Something that helps, in the next two minutes.

33 coping skills, written as steps you can follow with shaking hands. Pick what is going on.

Cravings & urgesAnxiety & panicDepressionGrief & lossBreakup or divorceAngerCan't sleepAfter a relapseLoving someone who usesMoney stressTrauma & flashbacksLonelinessIntrusive thoughtsCan't focusAll topics →
2 min

Box breathing

Your chest is tight and your thoughts are sprinting.

3 min

5-4-3-2-1 grounding

You feel like you're floating out of your body or the room.

15 min

Urge surfing

A craving just hit and it feels like it will never stop.

Kits for bad nightsWorksheetsScripts for hard conversationsGlossary
Cope or DieThe Field Guideto what is going on in your head11 chapters · 25 conditions · plain English

The Field Guide

The manual your doctor uses, in words you would actually say.

Organized the way clinicians organize it, with the real diagnosis codes, and written so that you can read it at 3 a.m. Flip between the plain version and the clinical one.

Open the Field GuideDoes this sound like me?

The bill

Nobody tells you what it costs until day 50.

People finish treatment and get hit with tens of thousands of dollars they were told insurance would cover. We think you should see the math before you say yes.

Day 1 · what they said

“Don’t worry about it. Insurance covers everything.”

STATEMENT Day 50 · arrives in the mail Sample

  • Detox, 7 days$10,500
  • Residential, 43 days$43,000
  • Lab testing, 22 panels$18,700
  • Physician services$3,900
  • Medication management$1,400
  • Paid by insurance−$31,200

You owe$0

PAST DUE

Run your own numbers first.

Four things decide your bill: your deductible, your coinsurance, your out-of-pocket max, and whether the place is in your network. Put yours in.

Is the facility in your network?

What you would likely owe

$0

Total billed
$0
Your deductible
$0
Your coinsurance
$0
Balance bill
$0
Paid by plan
$0

An estimate to help you ask better questions. It is not a quote. Rates shown are sample figures.

Full cost estimatorDecode a bill you already gotKnow your rightsNo insurance?

Check your insurance

Six tools that turn insurance into English.

Read my card

What every number on your insurance card means.

Plan types

HMO, PPO, EPO and what each one lets you do.

Is it covered?

What plans usually cover at each level of care.

Call script

The eight questions to ask your insurance company, word for word.

Verify my benefits

Have a person check your benefits and explain them.

Instant benefits check

Enter your plan, see your real numbers in seconds.

By carrier

AetnaAmbetterAnthemCarelon Behavioral Health (Beacon)Blue Cross Blue ShieldCareFirst BlueCross BlueShieldCignaFirst HealthFlorida BlueHealth NetHorizon Blue Cross Blue ShieldIndependence Blue CrossMHNLucet (New Directions)OptumUMRUnitedHealthcare

Rehabs by state

A directory you can actually trust.

Every listing checked against state licensing records and updated continuously. No paid placement. No call center pretending to be the facility you searched for.

  • License status, checked against the state
  • Levels of care and insurance accepted
  • Whether medication treatment is offered
  • Flags for the things programs do not advertise
Find rehabs in your stateRed flags to watch for

Substance use

What it does, what withdrawal is like, what actually works.

AlcoholFentanylHeroinPrescription opioidsOxycodoneTramadolSuboxoneKratomCocaineMethamphetamineAdderallBenzodiazepinesAll 24 →

Mental health

Half of people with an addiction are fighting something else too.

Anxiety disordersDepressive disordersBipolar and related disordersTrauma- and stressor-related disordersObsessive-compulsive and related disordersNeurodevelopmental disordersFeeding and eating disordersSleep-wake disordersMental health →

Levels of care, most to least intensive

  1. Medical detox3 to 10 days
  2. Inpatient rehab1 to 4 weeks
  3. Residential treatment30 to 90 days
  4. Partial hospitalization (PHP)2 to 6 weeks
  5. Intensive outpatient (IOP)8 to 12 weeks
  6. OutpatientMonths to years
  7. Sober living3 to 12 months

More than one way

There is no single right way to get better.

Some programs will tell you theirs is the only road. It is not. Find the one you will actually walk.

12-step

AA, NA and the rooms that have kept millions sober.

SMART Recovery

Science-based tools. No higher power required.

Medication

Buprenorphine, methadone, naltrexone. It is recovery.

Faith-based

Recovery rooted in belief and community.

Holistic

Body, sleep, movement, breath.

Quiz

Which path fits me?

Seven questions. An honest starting point.

Find a meeting tonightEvery therapy, explained

The Companion

Three in the morning. Nobody is picking up.

The Companion is always awake. It listens the way a good counselor does: it reflects back what it hears, asks the next question, helps you untangle the thought that keeps looping, and gets you to a human when you want one. It is automated and it is not a licensed therapist, and it says so.

  • Checks for crisis first, every time
  • Never sells you a bed
  • Hands you to a real person when you ask
More about the Companion
The Companion Therapy-style support. Automated, and not a licensed therapist.

Community

You are not the only one. Not even close.

Rooms for exactly what you are going through, a wall of small wins, and people who answer.

“412 days. Took my daughter to school this morning and she did not flinch when I hugged her.”

First 30 days roomSample

“Called my insurance with the script. They “found” $4,100 they owed.”

Money and bills roomSample

“Day 3 off benzos, the right way, with a taper. Still here.”

Coming off pills roomSample

“Went to the wedding. Drank seltzer. Danced anyway.”

Wins wallSample

Rooms

8 rooms, from “First 30 days” to “Loving someone who uses.”

Me too

One tap to tell someone they are not alone.

What worked for me

Real answers from people a few steps ahead.

Daily question

One honest question a day. Answer it or just read.

Live sessions

Weekly live talks and open Q&A.

Local chapters

Cope or Die, in person, in your city.

See the community
Ready

In for 4. Hold for 4. Out for 4. Hold for 4. Four rounds takes about a minute.

Red flags

This industry has a dark side. We will show you where it is.

Most people in treatment are there to help. Some programs are built to bill. Learn the difference before you hand over an insurance card.

All the red flagsThe Standard we hold
  • They offer to pay for your flight
  • They cannot tell you what it will cost
  • “We have one bed left, decide today”
  • They discourage medication for opioid addiction
  • Drug tests several times a week, billed to insurance
  • The “helpline” will not say who owns it

Built for whoever is carrying it.

Families

What to say, what not to pay for, and how to stay standing.

Veterans

Benefits, VA care, and people who served.

Clinicians

Free handouts, referral tools and a standard worth joining.

Why this exists

“I got sober. Then I saw how the industry works.”

Cope or Die was started by TJ Mastrelli. He has been the person who needed help, and he has worked on the inside of the treatment industry. He has watched people do the hardest thing of their lives and get handed a bill for thirty, forty, sixty thousand dollars afterward.

So he is building what he wishes had existed: one place with the truth about addiction, mental health, treatment and money, and real people to walk through it with you.

Do it the right way, or do not do it.

Draft Story wording to be approved by TJ before launch.

Read the whole story

Questions

Straight answers.

What is Cope or Die?

Cope or Die is a national resource for people living with substance use and mental health struggles, and for the people who love them. It brings together coping skills, a plain-English guide to mental health conditions, honest information about treatment and what it costs, and a community of people who have been there.

Is Cope or Die a treatment center?

No. Cope or Die does not provide medical care, and it does not sell your information to treatment centers. It exists to help you understand your options and find care you can trust.

Does it cost anything?

The library, the Field Guide, the cost tools and the community are free to use.

What should I do if I am in crisis right now?

Call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, any time, anywhere in the United States. You can also text HOME to 741741. If you or someone else is in immediate danger, or someone has overdosed, call 911.

How do I know what treatment will cost me?

Your cost depends on four things: your deductible, your coinsurance, your out-of-pocket maximum, and whether the facility is in your plan’s network. The Cope or Die cost estimator shows the math before you commit, and the call script gives you the exact questions to ask your insurance company.

Do I have to do the 12 steps?

No. Twelve-step programs help a lot of people, and so do SMART Recovery, medication, therapy, faith-based programs and other paths. Cope or Die covers all of them and does not push one.

Who will I talk to if I reach out?

A real person who has lived it. Peers are not therapists and do not give medical advice. They listen, share what worked for them, and help you find the next step.

Is what I share private?

Yes. You can use the library and tools without an account, and you can take part in the community without using your real name.

We point to the sources, not around them

988 Suicide & Crisis LifelineSAMHSAFindTreatment.govCrisis Text LineNational Institute on Drug AbuseNational Institute of Mental HealthVeterans Crisis Line

Whatever today looks like, start here.

One conversation with someone who has been there. Free. Private. No pitch.

Talk to someone like youGet help finding care

Cope or Die · Real people. Real resources. Real change. · Serving all 50 states in 2026.