Help!

CQD is one of the first distress signals adopted for radio use. It was announced on January 7, 1904, by the Marconi International Marine Communication Company. Telegraphs used "CQ" ("sécu" of sécurité) to help identify messages to all stations along a telegraph line, and CQ had been adopted as a "general call" for maritime radio use. Telegraphs had no general emergency signal, so the Marconi company added a "D" ("distress") to CQ in order to create the distress call. CQD was understood by wireless operators to mean, "All stations: distress."

Used worldwide by Marconi operators, CQD was never adopted as an international standard, as it could be mistaken for CQ when reception was poor. In 1906, Germany's Notzeichen distress signal of three-dots/three-dashes/three-dots was adopted as the international Morse code distress signal and became known for the letters it spelled out, SOS.

In 1923, a senior radio officer at Croydon Airport in London by the name of Frederick Stanley Mockford was asked to come up with a word that would indicate distress and was easily understood by all pilots and ground staff in an emergency. Much of the traffic at that time was between London and Paris, so he proposed the word "Mayday" from the French m’aider, where "venez m'aider" means "come help me."

Emergency telephone numbers such as 911 (in the US), 112 (in the EU) and 999 (in the UK) put you in contact with local emergency services for assistance.

As CQD, SOS, Mayday and the rest of the cornucopia of options indicate, we know how to ask for help in emergency situations. However, asking for non-emergency help is something many people have trouble doing. There is no hesitation to call for medical assistance when a person is injured, but we are much less likely to reach out and ask for help with work assignments, child care or the like.

Some believe it is a sign of weakness, so we try do to it ourselves and sometime do nothing instead, allowing the problem to grow into a crisis. We are a society largely based on helping ourselves. If you doubt that, take a good look at the self-help section the next time you are in a bookstore or library.

Despite the self-help mantra, the biggest mistake we can make is thinking we have to do everything ourselves. If we want it done right, we don't have to do it ourselves. Asking for help can boost our happiness; the assistance makes our life easier and it shows we have a supportive social network we can rely on in times of need. Not only does it increase our happiness, but also the happiness of who you are asking for help, as giving support is just as important as getting support. Think about it: asking someone for help means you have a positive relationship with that person and trust them to support you. Who wouldn't feel good about that?

It was Mark Twain who said "The best way to cheer yourself is to try to cheer somebody else up." When you ask for help, your call will be answered, and both of you will feel better. All you have to do is ask.