Get help now

To get urgent help, treatment, and support you can:

• Call 999, or
• Go to your local Accident and emergency department (A&E) at your local hospital.

You might feel like you are:

• going to take steps to take your own life,
• going to harm yourself, or
• harm someone else.

Depending on which one applies to you, you can:

• call 999,
• go to your local Accident and emergency department (A&E) at your local hospital.

Also, it might help to:

• read our advice and information on Self-harm, and
• read our advice and information on Suicidal thoughts - How to cope.

There are some concerns about what is known as the ‘Right care, right person’ police model.

But police say they will still respond to calls to keep people safe where there is a real and immediate risk to life or serious harm. Whether someone is seeking to harm themselves or to harm others.

You might be having a mental health crisis. This can mean different things to different people. You might, for example be:

• thinking about suicide or self-harm but not acting on the thoughts,
• experiencing mania,
• having an episode or psychosis, or
• feeling severely depressed or anxious.

You can:

• Contact your local NHS mental health helpline. You can find details at: nhs.uk/service-search/mental-health/find-an-urgent-mental-health-helpline. Or you can call NHS 111 and ask them. Your local NHS mental health helpline can refer you to NHS services for support and treatment. They can also tell you about local support services such as crisis cafes.
• Contact your local NHS mental health team, if you are already being treated by them. If you are already under a NHS mental health team then you should have a care plan. This should tell you who to contact in a crisis.
• Ask your GP for an emergency appointment. GPs usually keep some appointments free for urgent cases. The GP can make a referral to the local NHS crisis team if necessary.
• You can contact NHS 111. The phone line is for when you need medical help fast but it’s not a 999 emergency. You can call 111 if you don't know who to call or you don't have a GP. Or if you need health information or reassurance about what to do next. You can visit the NHS 111 website.
• Use Shout text service: You can text Shout to 85258 to connect to a trained person to help you. See www.giveusashout.org for more information.

Other services
Other local services are provided in some areas by the NHS and other providers, such as charities. These local services can include:

• crisis houses that provide short-term accommodation for people experiencing a mental health crisis,
• crisis cafés that provide a safe, welcoming place where people can go if they are feeling emotionally distressed or are in a mental health crisis, and
• crisis helplines that provide emotional and sometimes practical support.

You can search on the internet for these services, or ask your local NHS urgent mental health help line.

Emotional support lines are known as ‘listening services.’ They aren’t counselling services, but they are staffed by trained listeners.

Sharing your problems can be helpful to manage your feelings. Often people on helplines will have their own experience of mental health issues.

Some emotional support lines to try are:

Samaritans
A charity that offers emotional support for people who are distressed. Local branches offer telephone support and sometimes face to face support. The Samaritans helpline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Phone: 116 123
Address: Chris, Freepost RSRB-KKBY-CYJK, PO Box 9090, Stirling, FK8 2SA
Email: jo@samaritans.org
Website: www.samaritans.org

ASSISTline
National helpline offering supportive listening service to anyone throughout the UK with thoughts of suicide or thoughts of self-harm. They are open 24/7 for those aged 18 or over.

Phone: 0800 689 5652
Website: www.spuk.org.uk/national-suicide-prevention-helpline-uk

PAPYRUS
Charity that offers emotional support to people under 35 who are suicidal. They can also support people who are concerned about someone under 35 who might be suicidal.

Phone: 0800 068 41 41
Text: 07786 209697
Email: pat@papyrus-uk.org
Website: www.papyrus-uk.org

C.A.L.M. (Campaign Against Living Miserably)
CALM is leading a movement against suicide. They offer accredited confidential, anonymous and free support, information and signposting. The provide this to people anywhere in the UK through their helpline and webchat service.

Phone: 0800 58 58 58
Webchat: www.thecalmzone.net/help/webchat
Website: www.thecalmzone.net

Sane
Work with anyone affected by mental illness, including families, friends and carers. They provide a helpline and a free text-based support service called Textcare. And an online supportive forum community where anyone can share their experiences of mental health.

Phone: 0300 304 7000
Textcare: www.sane.org.uk/what_we_do/support/textcare
Support Forum: www.sane.org.uk/what_we_do/support/supportforum
Website: www.sane.org.uk

SupportLine
Support line offers confidential emotional support by telephone, email and post.

Phone: 01708 765200
Address: SupportLine, PO Box 2860, Romford, Essex RM7 1JA
Email: info@supportline.org.uk
Website: www.supportline.org.uk

The Mix
If you’re under 25 and need help but don’t know where to turn, call the Mix for free. They’ll explore your situation with you and find organisations that may be able to help you further.

Phone: 0808 808 4994
Crisis support: text THEMIX to 85258 for crisis support - www.themix.org.uk/get-support/speak-to-our-team/crisis-messenger
Email: www.themix.org.uk/get-support/speak-to-our-team/email-us
Phone Counselling: www.themix.org.uk/get-support/speak-to-our-team/the-mix-counselling-service
Webchat: 1 to 1 chat service: www.themix.org.uk/get-support/speak-to-our-team
Website: www.themix.org.uk

Mood Swings
Aimed at anyone affected by a mood disorder, including friends, families, and carers.

Phone: 0161 832 37 36
Email: info@moodswings.org.uk
Website: www.moodswings.org.uk

What are peer support groups?

In peer support groups people who have similar experiences get together to help each other.

Getting peer support can:

• help your confidence,
• make you feel understood,
• give you a chance to share your experiences,
• give you hope for the future,
• be a good way to help yourself,
• lead to you becoming more in control of your life,
• open up opportunities for you, and
• help you develop according to your needs.

We have over 140 peer support groups across England. You can search for them here: www.rethink.org/help-in-your-area/support-groups

You can also search for local peer support groups below:

• Local Minds: www.mind.org.uk/about-us/local-minds
• Hub of Hope: www.hubofhope.co.uk
• Bipolar UK – for people who live with bipolar disorder: www.bipolaruk.org/find-a-support-group
• Andy’s Man Club - for men: www.andysmanclub.co.uk
• Men’s Sheds Association - for men: www.menssheds.org.uk

Some NHS services also run peer support groups. To find out if the NHS run any peer support groups in your area you can:

• search on the internet using a search term like ‘NHS [the area where you live] mental health peer support group’
• call NHS 111 and ask
• ask staff at your GP practice
• ask staff at your NHS mental health team, if you are with one
• ask your local NHS Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) service: www.nhs.uk/Service-Search/Patient-advice-and-liaison-services-(PALS)/LocationSearch/363.

There are also online peer support services:

• Side by Side: www.sidebyside.mind.org.uk
• Clic: www.clic-uk.org
• 7 Cups: www.7cups.com
• Mentell - for adult men: www.mentell.org.uk
• Together All: www.togetherall.com/en-gb
• Sane: www.sane.org.uk/what_we_do/support/supportforum

What are Rethink Mental Illness’ community support services?

Community support services give people affected by mental illness help to:

• build their confidence,
• stay in or return to work, and
• take part in social activities they enjoy.

You can search for them here: www.rethink.org/help-in-your-area/services

Other charities may run community support services within your area.

How else can I find local services?

You can:

• search on Hub of Hope website using your postcode: www.hubofhope.co.uk
• contact your local council: www.gov.uk/find-local-council
• search Local Minds: www.mind.org.uk/about-us/local-minds
• see a link worker.

What is a link worker?
A link worker is also known as a social prescriber. They offer non-medical support to help improve your wellbeing.

A link worker will try to connect you to community-based support. This can include activities and services that meet your practical, social, and emotional needs that affect your health and wellbeing. They will work with you to find out what is important to you.

You can talk to your GP, or other NHS or social care staff about seeing a link worker. Link workers are not yet available in all areas of the country yet. But the NHS is working to expand this service.

Our Advice and Information Service give practical, solution-focussed advice and information about issues such as:

• Mental health conditions and symptoms
• Living with mental illness
• Police, courts and prison
• Mental Health laws
• Rights and restrictions
• Support for carers

The team can also refer people to the Mental Health and Money Advice Service if you need debt and benefits advice support.

Many of your questions can be answered in our advice and information pages. You can see a list of topics by clicking here. If you can't find an answer to your question then you can contact us by phone, email, webchat, or letter.

You can find details about how to contact the team, and their opening hours, by clicking here.