Who to contact

1. You Don’t Have to Struggle Alone

Mental health difficulties can affect anyone. Talking to somebody you trust or reaching out for professional support can help you understand what’s happening, explore your options and find a way forward.

2. Getting Help Early Matters

You don't have to wait until things reach crisis point before asking for help. If something doesn’t feel right, it’s worth talking about. Early support can help prevent difficulties becoming more overwhelming and connect you with the right help sooner.

3. There Is Support Out There

Different people need different kinds of support. Your GP, NHS services, mental health professionals, charities, helplines and local organisations can all be potential starting points. Explore the support links on this page and find the option that feels right for you.

💚 Someone Is There to Listen

Whatever you’re going through, Samaritans are there to listen without judgement or pressure. You don’t need to be suicidal to contact them — you can talk about whatever is on your mind.

📞 Free Support, Day or Night

Samaritans are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Call 116 123 free from any phone when you need someone to talk to, whether you’re facing a crisis or simply struggling with life.

❤️ A Conversation Can Make a Difference

You don’t need to know what to say or have everything figured out before you call. A Samaritans volunteer will give you the time and space to talk things through in your own way. Sometimes being heard is an important first step.

💬 Support by Text

Shout offers free, confidential mental health support by text, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It’s there for anyone in the UK who is struggling to cope and would rather communicate by text.

📱 Start With One Message

You don’t need to explain everything at once. Simply text SHOUT to 85258 to begin a conversation with a trained volunteer who can listen, support you and help you through a difficult moment.

❤️ You Don’t Have to Face It Alone

Whether you’re feeling anxious, overwhelmed, distressed or simply unable to cope, Shout provides a private space to talk about what’s happening. Sometimes sending that first message can be the beginning of things feeling more manageable.

💙 Information You Can Trust

Mind provides clear, accessible information about mental health, including different conditions, treatments, medication, wellbeing and your rights. It can be a useful place to start when you want to understand what you’re experiencing.

🤝 Advice and Support

Mind offers information and support to people experiencing mental health difficulties, as well as friends, families and carers. Their services can help you understand your options and find appropriate support when you’re unsure where to turn.

🌱 You’re Not Alone

Mental health difficulties can sometimes feel isolating, but support is available. Mind works to ensure that people experiencing mental health problems are heard, understood and treated fairly — while challenging stigma and campaigning for better mental health services.

🧡 Support When Life Feels Too Much

CALM — the Campaign Against Living Miserably — offers support for anyone who is struggling, feeling overwhelmed or finding life difficult. You don't have to wait until you're at crisis point to reach out.

📞 Talk to Someone Who Will Listen

CALM provides free and confidential support through its helpline and webchat, giving you somewhere to talk openly about whatever is happening without judgement or pressure.

💬 Standing Against Suicide

CALM works to prevent suicide and challenge the stigma that can stop people asking for help, while encouraging open, honest conversations about mental health. Sometimes talking about what you're carrying can be an important first step.

💜 Supporting Young People

PAPYRUS is a UK charity dedicated to the prevention of suicide and the promotion of positive mental health and emotional wellbeing in young people. It also provides support and guidance to people who are worried about someone else.

📞 HOPELINE247

PAPYRUS provides confidential support through HOPELINE247, available 24 hours a day, every day of the year. It offers a safe space to talk about thoughts of suicide or concerns that a young person may be at risk.

❤️ Hope Through Conversation

Talking about suicide can feel incredibly difficult, but PAPYRUS encourages open, direct and compassionate conversations. Its trained advisers can listen, help explore ways to stay safe and support people in finding an appropriate way forward.

💙 Practical Mental Health Support

Rethink Mental Illness provides information, advice and support for people severely affected by mental illness, as well as their families, friends and carers. Their resources can help you better understand your situation and the options available.

🤝 Advice When You Need Direction

From understanding mental health services and treatment to rights, benefits, housing and carers’ support, Rethink offers practical information for navigating some of the challenges that can accompany mental illness.

🌱 A Better Life Is Possible

Rethink works to challenge stigma, improve mental health services and ensure people affected by mental illness have a voice. Their message is one of understanding, rights, support and hope for a better quality of life.

💛 Supporting Young People

YoungMinds is a UK charity focused on the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people. It provides accessible information to help young people understand their feelings, mental health and where they can find support.

🤝 Help for Parents & Carers

YoungMinds also supports parents and carers who are worried about a young person’s mental health. Its Parents Helpline and online resources can provide information, guidance and help with understanding possible next steps.

🌱 Young Minds Matter

YoungMinds campaigns for a world where no young person feels alone with their mental health. By challenging stigma, improving understanding and giving young people a voice, it aims to ensure they can get appropriate support when they need it.

💚 Help When You’re Not Sure What to Do

NHS 111 can help when you need medical or mental health support but it isn’t a life-threatening emergency. The service can assess what you need and direct you towards the most appropriate NHS care.

📞 Call 111

NHS 111 is free to call and available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In England, you can also select the mental health option when calling 111 if you need urgent mental health support.

🚑 Knowing Where to Turn

NHS 111 can help connect you with appropriate services when you need urgent advice. If there is an immediate threat to life or serious danger, call 999 or attend an appropriate emergency department instead.

📍 Support Close to Home

Local mental health services can provide support that’s specific to your area and circumstances. Your GP, NHS services, local charities and community organisations can all be useful starting points when you need help.

🤝 Community Makes a Difference

Support doesn’t always have to come from a national organisation. Local support groups, community services, peer networks and voluntary organisations can provide understanding, practical help and valuable connections close to home.

💚 Find What’s Available Near You

Services vary depending on where you live, so explore your local NHS, council and voluntary-sector resources to see what support is available. You may discover specialist services and community organisations you didn’t know existed.

🚨 When There Is Immediate Danger

If you or someone else is in immediate danger, seriously injured or at immediate risk of harm, call 999 and ask for the appropriate emergency service. Mental health emergencies should be taken just as seriously as physical ones.

🧠 Urgent Mental Health Help

If you need urgent mental health support but there isn’t an immediate threat to life, contact NHS 111 and select the mental health option where available. They can help assess what is happening and direct you towards appropriate support.

❤️ Don’t Face a Crisis Alone

In an emergency, the priority is safety and getting appropriate help quickly. Tell someone what is happening, stay with the person if it is safe to do so, and contact professional or emergency services rather than trying to manage a serious crisis alone.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT TO SEEK MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT

We all have mental health, and just like our physical health, it can change.

Sometimes we can recognise what is happening and manage things ourselves. At other times, thoughts, emotions, behaviour or circumstances can become difficult to understand or cope with.

You don't need to have a diagnosis to ask for help.

You don't need to know exactly what is wrong.

And you certainly don't need to wait until you've reached crisis point.

If you're struggling, that is reason enough to talk to somebody.

Reaching out gives you an opportunity to put what you're experiencing into words. Sometimes simply being able to say "I'm not doing very well" to another person can be an important first step.

Professional support can offer something friends and family cannot always provide. Trained professionals can listen, assess what is happening, help you understand your experiences and discuss appropriate options with you. Depending on your circumstances, that might include practical advice, psychological support, medication, social support, specialist services or simply having somebody help you work out what should happen next.

Getting support earlier can make a difference

Mental health difficulties don't always disappear if we ignore them.

Changes in sleep, mood, thoughts, behaviour, relationships, motivation or ability to cope can sometimes build gradually. Because those changes can happen slowly, we may not immediately recognise how much we're struggling.

Asking for support earlier provides an opportunity to address difficulties before they become more disruptive or distressing.

It can also help you identify your own warning signs and develop strategies that may be useful in the future.

Another perspective can help

When we're overwhelmed, our view of a situation can become narrower.

Problems can feel enormous. Options can become difficult to see. We may convince ourselves that nobody will understand, that nothing will change or that we simply need to cope on our own.

Talking to another person introduces another perspective.

They may not have an instant solution — and that's okay.

Sometimes what matters first is being heard, understood and taken seriously.

Support isn't one-size-fits-all

There isn't one perfect form of mental health support.

For some people, the first conversation might be with a partner, friend, colleague or family member. For others it might be a GP, counsellor, mental health professional, support worker, charity or helpline.

Sometimes the first person or service you approach won't be the right fit. That doesn't mean support cannot help. It may simply mean you need to try another route.

Finding the right support can take time.

You are allowed to ask for help

People sometimes avoid seeking support because they believe somebody else has it worse, they're worried about being judged, or they feel they should be able to manage things themselves.

Mental health isn't a competition.

Someone else's difficulties don't make yours less important.

Seeking support isn't about handing responsibility for your life to somebody else. It's about giving yourself more information, more options and more people in your corner while you work out what you need.

And you don't have to be at breaking point to deserve that.

If things become urgent

If you feel unable to keep yourself or somebody else safe, or believe there is an immediate risk to life, seek urgent help rather than relying on information from this website.

The Mental Health Support Links section contains organisations and services that may be able to help. For immediate danger in the UK, contact the emergency services.

Above all, remember:

Talk. Reach out. Ask questions.

You don't have to know exactly what you need before asking for help.

Sometimes the first step is simply telling somebody:

"I'm struggling."

MindVibesFM provides generalised support information and lived-experience content. It is not a replacement for individual clinical, medical or professional advice. Please see the Disclaimer section for further information.