Soaking up all that despair is a really good sign to call for help. No reason to tough it out. Also, maybe steer clear of heavy topics on pc if it's triggering more despair?

As far as your question goes, I call when I'm too upset to type, but mostly I email. I don't weigh whether or not it's bad enough to reach out. If a spiral is starting, it's better for me to get on top of it right away, before I can't see it anymore and don't care. It just takes too long to crawl back out.