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Mental Health

Mental Health

Keeping well is important to keep good mental health. Eating well, being active, being with the people who make you feel good and care about you, getting out and about and doing the things you enjoy helps maintain good health and wellbeing.

Visit the Raise York health and wellbeing page for information about eating well and keeping active.

Find out more about:

Keeping engaged in the things you love and enjoy can really support with keeping good mental health.

Check our Raise York directory for ad hoc activities happening throughout the year and during the school holidays. You can also search the directory for activities and things to do, that are happening on a more regular basis.

Search the Family Service Directory for information on clubs, groups and activities you can get involved with.

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Feeling different from usual or noticed a change in your behaviour? Find out more about some common feelings and mental health symptoms, how to cope, and where to go to get help.

In addition, find more information if you're experiencing any of these emotions and find information about how you can speak to someone about these feelings.

There is a lot of information and support available to help you if you are experiencing any of the feelings mentioned on this page. Find support from:

Sad feelings and depression

Everyone feels down, sad and upset sometimes especially when we are faced with difficult situations. These feelings usually pass over time and we get back to feeling like ourselves again. Sometimes sad thoughts can last longer and start to effect the way you enjoy life. If you've been experiencing sad feeling for a while it could be a sign of depression.

Depression happens to lots of people and can be caused by many different reasons. Sometimes there is no obvious reason for why someone might feel depressed.

Some of the signs of depression include:

  • continuous low mood or sadness
  • feeling hopeless and helpless
  • having low self-esteem
  • feeling tearful
  • feeling guilt-ridden
  • feeling irritable and intolerant of others
  • having no motivation or interest in things
  • finding it difficult to make decisions
  • not getting any enjoyment out of life
  • unexplained aches and pains
  • changes in appetite and/or weight
  • disturbed sleep
  • feeling anxious and worried
  • having thoughts of harming yourself

It can be hard to deal with and even though it might seem hard it's important to talk to someone you can trust about how you are feeling.

Loneliness and isolation

Loneliness can affect everyone, all of us will experience feelings of loneliness at some point in our lives. There are many reasons why someone can feel lonely or isolated. Sometimes it can feel difficult to cope with and to talk about. Even though you may feel like it now, you're not alone. There are things that you can do to help you feel better and there is lots of information and advice available to support you.

If you feel that your loneliness is impacting on your day-to-day life, then it’s important that you speak to someone that you trust; this might be family and friends, or a teacher, mentor, your GP or an organisation who offers support.

Worries, stress and anxiety

Everybody feels stressed or worried from time to time. It's completely natural to feel worried when you are thinking or stressing about things, but that doesn't make it easy to deal with. You may also feel anxious when you are experiencing worries. Anxiety is a normal part of life, and most people feel anxious sometimes about certain life situations. Sometimes we can feel anxious without even knowing the reason why.

All sorts of reasons can make you feel worried, for example:

  • new experiences
  • arguments
  • worries about money
  • making friends or fitting in
  • being bullied
  • being ill or someone in the family being ill
  • dangers in the world

Keeping your feelings to yourself can leave you feeling upset, angry or alone. It’s OK to feel worried or anxious but it’s also important to talk about what’s going on and make sense of things. Try talking to someone you can trust or to one of the many organisations on this page who can provide you with support and advice.

Self-confidence and self-esteem

If you're lacking confidence and not feeling good about yourself then you are not alone. Lots of people feel like this sometimes and it can be caused by many different reasons. Self-esteem is the opinion we have of ourselves. When we have a healthy self-esteem, we tend to feel positive about ourselves and about life in general. When our self-esteem is low, we tend to see ourselves and our life in a more negative way. We also feel less able to take on the challenges that life throws at us.

If you have low self-esteem or confidence, you may hide yourself away from social situations, stop trying new things, and avoid things you find challenging. Sometimes your confidence can go up and down depending on the situation you're in.

Building up your confidence can take time, but there are lots of ways to boost your confidence and self-esteem:

  • recognise and celebrate what you are good at
  • be kind to yourself
  • build positive relationships around you
  • be more assertive
  • challenge yourself to try new things
  • think about your social media usage

Have a look at Young Minds' 6 tips for boosting your self-esteem for more helpful advice about boosting your self-esteem and building confidence. 

Anger

Anger is a normal emotion that everyone experiences. It’s OK and perfectly normal to feel angry about things that you have experienced. You can feel angry for lots of different reasons, we all have different triggers. Sometimes you may not know why you feel angry. You might get angry about something that has just happened or something that you have bottled up for a long time. Learning to identify and manage your anger in a safe way will help ensure you don’t hurt yourself, others or the things around you.

If you have experienced any of these things whilst feeling angry, it might be a sign that you need some support:

  • hitting or physically hurting other people
  • shouting at people
  • breaking things
  • losing control
  • spending time with people who get you into trouble
  • constantly ending relationships or getting in trouble at school or work

If you often feel angry there are things that you can do to help yourself. Other people can help too. Talk about how you are feeling with family members or carers, friends or someone else you can trust like a teacher or your GP.

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Losing someone important to you is one of the hardest things to experience in life. If you're young, bereavement can be even more difficult. But support and advice are available to help you get through it.

Grief is a natural part of recovering from the loss of someone important in your life. Everyone grieves differently and you may feel a mixture of different emotions:

  • shock and disbelief
  • sadness
  • guilt
  • despair and helplessness
  • fear, anxiety and worry about how life will be now
  • relief (particularly after a long illness)
  • anger

The NHS Bereavement and young people page has lots of information and support on how to cope with bereavement.

If you're finding it hard to cope after the loss of someone close to you, speak to someone that you trust and get the help and support you need.

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If you're experiencing any of the feelings mentioned on this page and would like to speak to someone for advice and support, there are organisations who can help.

York Mind Young Peoples Service offer a range of different support for children and young people aged 8 to 25 experiencing struggles with emotions or mental health, such as often feeling low, stressed or worried. You can self-refer and if you are thinking about accessing support for yourself but feel anxious or unsure, a member of their young people's team can talk this through with you to help you with your decision. Telephone: 01904 643364 or email: [email protected].

Get support from Childline if you’re under 19. You can confidentially call free on telephone: 0800 1111, chat online or email about any problem big or small.

The Mix offers support to anyone under 25 about anything that’s troubling them. You can call their free helpline for young people on telephone: 0808 080 4994 available 7 days a week from 3.00pm to 12.00am, email via their online contact form or chat one-to-one 7 days a week from 3.00pm to 12.00am.

Counselling, help lines, support groups and wellbeing services

There are many services offering support by a range of methods including text, face to face, telephone, email and face to face support. Find out more information on services providing emotional health and wellbeing support.

Alternatively, get in touch with the Young People Information Service and we'll try and help you find support.

School wellbeing services

The School Wellbeing Service provides support for young people who are presenting with mental health issues and concerns, which are below an intervention from CAMHS, but above what school pastoral structures can support.

In addition to the School Wellbeing Service information, the webpage contains lots of useful resources for both young people and parent carers; including additional support services; website information; information about apps to download; links to self-help booklets; helpline information and practical information.

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Experiencing mental health problems can be frightening and sometimes lonely. If you haven't felt like this before you may not know what is happening. It is important not to feel alone. There are lots of great places where you can get information and support to help you.

If your mental or emotional state gets worse quickly, this can be referred to as a mental health crisis or a mental health emergency.

A mental health crisis often means that you no longer feel able to cope or be in control of your situation. You may feel many things (although this may be different for individuals) including emotional distress or anxiety, that you can’t cope with day-to-day life or work, you might think about suicide or self–harm, or you might experience hallucinations and hear voices. You are not alone and there are a range of different options to help provide the right support for you.

If you're experiencing difficult thoughts about wanting to hurt yourself it is important to get help quickly.

If you, or someone you know, have injured themselves or taken an overdose please telephone: 999 or go to A&E.

Self-harm

Self-harm can affect us in lots of different ways. You might have self-harmed before, be thinking about self-harm, or wanting to support someone else who is self-harming. You might have also heard people talking about self-harm but aren’t sure what it means.

Find information about self-harm and how to cope with self-harm.

I want to talk to someone

You can talk to any of the following about a mental health crisis:

  • talk to an adult you can trust - are there any adults in your life you feel you can talk to? This doesn’t need to be a parent, it could be a relative or a teacher or someone else you feel you can talk to
  • The Tees, Esk and Wear Vally NHS Foundation Trust offer support to people in York who are experiencing mental health crisis. Their free phone crisis number will help in a mental health emergency.  Telephone: 0800 0516171. Open 24 hours a day, 7 days  week, callers, including those with learning disabilities and autism, will be offered a series of options which will divert them to their local crisis service
  • SHOUT - You can also text the SHOUT National Crisis line on telephone: 85258. Shout telephone: 85258 is a free, confidential, 24/7 text messaging support service for anyone who is struggling to cope
  • The Young Minds Crisis Messenger offers free 24/7 support across the UK if you are experiencing a mental health crisis. All texts are answered by trained volunteers, with support from experienced clinical supervisors. Text YM to telephone: 85258
  • Papyrus UK suicide prevention - are you, or is a young person you know, not coping with life?  Papyrus can help you. For confidential suicide prevention advice contact their HOPELINEUK on telephone: 0800 068 4141 or email: [email protected]. They are open from 9.00am to 12.00am (midnight) every day of the year
  • Samaritans - if you would like to talk to someone  York Samaritans are available 24 hours a day, every day. You can phone them free from any phone on telephone: 116 123 or 01904 655888 (local rate). You can also email: [email protected] and they will respond to you within 24 hours

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YorMind

An online resource outlining the different mental health services available to young people in York. Their directory details what happens when you contact a service, waiting times and lists and what to expect when accessing the service. Visit the YorMind website.

Family Services Directory

Use the directory to for information on helplines, chat forums, websites, counselling and mentoring and befriending services.

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