Supporting someone with anxiety or depression

There are ways that you can help someone with anxiety or depression. It may be helpful to:

let them know if you’ve noticed a change in their behaviour
spend time talking about their experiences and let them know you’re there to listen without being judgmental
help them to get information from a website, library or community health centre
suggest they look at the self-referral pages for talking therapies available
encourage them to get enough sleep, to exercise and to eat well
encourage family and friends to invite them out and keep in touch, but don’t pressure them to participate in activities
contact your local urgent mental health helpline if you become concerned about someone’s behaviour

It is unhelpful to:

put pressure on them by telling them to ‘snap out of it’ or ‘get their act together’
stay away or avoid them
tell them they just need to stay busy or get out more
pressure them to party more or wipe out how they’re feeling with drugs and alcohol
assume the problem will just go away.

If you feel you need urgent mental health support, please contact one of these 24/7 urgent mental health helplines – they’re available to anyone of any age

Bolton, Manchester, Salford and Trafford 0800 953 0285 (freephone)
Bury, Heywood, Middleton & Rochdale, Oldham, Stockport and Tameside & Glossop 0800 014 9995 (freephone)
Wigan 0800 051 3253 (freephone)

If there’s an immediate risk of danger to life, you should ring 999