This uses the PAUSE, ACKNOWLEDGE, THINK, and HELP technique to address emotions. There are several suggestions included in this worksheet. The content was adapted from Red Flags “Harmful Coping Responses” and “Coping Responses.“
Mental Health America (MHA) – founded in 1909 – is the nation’s leading community-based nonprofit dedicated to addressing the needs of those living with mental illness and to promoting the overall mental health of all Americans. Our work is driven by our commitment to promote mental health as a critical part of overall wellness, including prevention services for all; early identification and intervention for those at risk; integrated care, services, and supports for those who need it; with recovery as the goal.
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When you struggle with a mental health condition like depression or anxiety, it’s easy to get stuck looking at everything through the most negative lens possible. You have thoughts that bring you down, make you doubt yourself, and make it hard to accomplish your goals. And yet they can feel completely out of your control. They might even seem like facts, not just distorted thinking.
Mental health professionals call these “cognitive distortions,” or “thinking errors.” You can think of those as fancy terms for “stupid thoughts.” There are many different kinds of these thoughts. Here are a few examples:
Black-and-white or all-or-nothing thinking: “If I make one mistake, I’m a bad person.”
Filtering: “No one ever appreciates me”—ignoring all the times when people have expressed appreciation for you (even if it’s not as often as you’d like).
Blaming: Thinking that everything good that happens to you is because of luck. Everything bad that happens is your own fault.
Catastrophizing: “My partner broke up with me… Now I’m going to die alone.”
There are a lot more of these. Stopping your stupid thoughts takes two steps: learning to recognize them, and learning to reframe them, or look at them in a more positive or realistic lens. Taking the example of catastrophizing about a breakup, you might reframe the thought “Now I’m going to die alone” with thoughts like these:
“I really liked them. I’ll probably be sad for a while—but I’ll start to feel better with time.”
“Maybe I was too emotionally dependent on this relationship. I can use this as an opportunity to learn how to be happy and strong on my own.”
“Now that I know what went wrong in this relationship, my next relationship can be better.”
These examples look at the situation from an angle that is more positive, more realistic, and more constructive. Notice that you’re still allowing yourself to feel sad about the breakup; you’re not invalidating your emotions by telling yourself to “get over it.” You’re just taking a step back to think about your thinking.
It takes a long time to get in the habit of thinking this way, and maybe even longer to start actually believing it. To help you get started, we’ve created a worksheet that lists 11 different types of “stupid thoughts” and provides a visual exercise you can use to get in the habit of reframing your negative thoughts. You can download the worksheet here:
Aside from cognitive distortions, there are also other types of thoughts that can negatively affect our mental health. You can read more about these in our article about types of intrusive thoughts.
Mental Health Crisis Plan
Organizing your thoughts and taking steps to feel better can be tough when you’re weighed down by mental illness. That’s why it’s important to think ahead. At a time when you’re feeling well and able, think through your mental health crisis plan. And write it down! You can see these steps as a worksheet below.
Who is your support system?
Think about the people in your life who can offer the positive supports you need. Thinking about specific things they can do to help you feel better will provide guidance during tough times. Some examples might include: someone you can call who will just listen, someone to hang out with even though you have low energy, or someone to take a slow walk with.
When symptoms become serious, it’s helpful to identify an emergency contact and list specific actions they can do to help you get back on track.
If you see a therapist or any other mental health professional, write down their contact information. Ask if you can contact them outside of your regular appointment time if you’re in crisis. If you can’t, identify a warmline, text line, or hotline you can reach out to.
It’s a good idea to share your crisis plan with your support system. Your friends and family can be more helpful if they understand how to see the signs of a crisis, and how you would like them to help you. This can also be a good way of starting a conversation about your mental health. It can also be helpful to create a psychiatric advance directive (PAD)—a plan for what happens if you are unable to make your own health care decisions.
See a mental health crisis coming—before it’s already here
Triggers are people, places, words, or situations that increase negative feelings. They can make it difficult to cope with mental health symptoms. When you’re well, it can be helpful to work on exposing yourself to triggers so that negative experiences are lessened when you’re stressed. For example, if going to the grocery store or crossing bridges is scary—take small steps to expose yourself to these situations. There are some triggers, like yelling, or abusive relationships that you might consider avoiding all together. Identify some triggers that you can work through. And identify if there are triggers that you should avoid.
Early warning signs are personal changes in thoughts or behaviors that signal that things are getting worse. The sooner you intervene when these signs occur, the better. Use the lines below to think about your early warning signs. Some examples might include: withdrawing for more than two days, feeling so agitated you haven’t slept for three or more days, or finding it difficult to get out of bed. When these signs occur, it’s helpful to list out your next steps for seeking help. This might include calling your treatment provider, or calling your emergency contact.
Actions to take
Stress can creep up on you when it seems like you have so much to get done and not enough time to do it. Or sometimes when symptoms of mental illness come back, normal every day activities become stressful. When stress comes, it often affects sleep. Identify steps you can take to reduce stress. You can use the list in the worksheet to get started.
Dealing with a crisis is hard! It’s even harder to come up with a plan when you’re already panicking. Having a crisis plan ready in advance can make things go a lot more smoothly—and might just save your life.
The letter can help you plan out a conversation with your parents (or friends) about your mental health issues. Writing something down can help you prepare for the conversation when it happens. Use the letter and fill in the blanks. Pick from the options we’ve listed or use your own words.
About The Creator
Mental Health America (MHA) – founded in 1909 – is the nation’s leading community-based nonprofit dedicated to addressing the needs of those living with mental illness and to promoting the overall mental health of all Americans. Our work is driven by our commitment to promote mental health as a critical part of overall wellness, including prevention services for all; early identification and intervention for those at risk; integrated care, services, and supports for those who need it; with recovery as the goal.
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The information and documents included here are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with questions pertaining to your medical condition(s), treatment and care, and any other aspects relating to your health.
People are pretty bad at identifying their true feelings. When asked about our feelings, most people will usually say they feel: bad, sad, mad, good, or fine. But underneath “good, bad, sad, mad, or fine” are many words that better describe how we feel. Taking the time to slow down and identify what we are really experiencing can help us feel better and can improve our communication and relationships with others.
Once you identify what you’re really feeling, it might give you insight into how to ask for what you really need. For example. I feel mad. But what I’m really feeling is vulnerable, unworthy, or unsafe. What I need because I feel worthy is for you to say “it’s not your fault and I love you” so I can feel better.
If I stopped at mad, I might not be able to find out how to really address the negative things I’m feeling.
About The Creator
Mental Health America (MHA) – founded in 1909 – is the nation’s leading community-based nonprofit dedicated to addressing the needs of those living with mental illness and to promoting the overall mental health of all Americans. Our work is driven by our commitment to promote mental health as a critical part of overall wellness, including prevention services for all; early identification and intervention for those at risk; integrated care, services, and supports for those who need it; with recovery as the goal.
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The information and documents included here are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with questions pertaining to your medical condition(s), treatment and care, and any other aspects relating to your health.
When your thoughts are racing and you aren’t able to concentrate or be present in the moment, you have to learn how to calm your mind down before you can work on replacing the thoughts that are bothering you. Being calm is hard if you don’t practice stopping yourself first from going to that place where you want to ruminate. Acknowledging how you feel instead of beating yourself up is important. Take time to lean into those negative feelings instead of avoiding them. It’s probably easier to address them if you can see them head on. Then once you’ve done that, you can start to address them by replacing them with new thoughts. Use the following poster as a physical reminder of how to engage in this practice before using Stopping Stupid Thoughts to believe in new better thoughts.
About The Creator
Mental Health America (MHA) – founded in 1909 – is the nation’s leading community-based nonprofit dedicated to addressing the needs of those living with mental illness and to promoting the overall mental health of all Americans. Our work is driven by our commitment to promote mental health as a critical part of overall wellness, including prevention services for all; early identification and intervention for those at risk; integrated care, services, and supports for those who need it; with recovery as the goal.
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The information and documents included here are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with questions pertaining to your medical condition(s), treatment and care, and any other aspects relating to your health.
Maybe you’re wondering if you’re alone, or you just want to know more about what other people are struggling with. The infographic below details facts about mental health among young people.
About The Creator
Mental Health America (MHA) – founded in 1909 – is the nation’s leading community-based nonprofit dedicated to addressing the needs of those living with mental illness and to promoting the overall mental health of all Americans. Our work is driven by our commitment to promote mental health as a critical part of overall wellness, including prevention services for all; early identification and intervention for those at risk; integrated care, services, and supports for those who need it; with recovery as the goal.
eQuoo the Emotional Fitness Game
About This Tool
From psychologists and the makers of over 50 mobile games comes eQuoo: a game that teaches you psychological skills in a fun and captivating way – skills you need to deal with emotional and mental stressors in a healthy and productive fashion.
Play your way towards mental resilience as you learn about cognitive processes in a safe and stimulating environment. Once a skill is learned, the game unlocks an interactive story where you need to use those skills to level up in the game.
But the best part is that they are then readily available for real life situations, too! Boosting your mental wellbeing doesn’t have to be “work”!
About the Creator
PsycApps is a Digital Mental Health company that uses gaming, psychology and AI and to harness the brains reward system to get people to stick to mobile therapy.
PsycApps is finding a way how to get people suffering from depression, anxiety and other mental illnesses intrinsically motivated to stick to therapeutic digital programs. Many mental health issues include symptoms such as lack of motivation and cognitive impairment. Using gaming and AI to keep people motivated will be the Big Change that can better and save lives.
In a fast-paced, ever changing digital world, what could be more attractive than a game that helps you fight your mental illness!?
PsycApps has partnered up with a US based game development company called Collision Studios. Collision Studios has developed a vast suite of successful apps and games such as 300, The Walking Dead and Barbie. With their help, PsycApps created eQuoo, a sub-clinical award-winning Emotional Fitness Game that launched July 2018 in the iTunes App and Google Play Stores in the USA, UK, Canada and Australia.
Here’s a short video about why your brain freaks out and why taking a moment to breath can make a difference.
About The Creator
Mental Health America (MHA) – founded in 1909 – is the nation’s leading community-based nonprofit dedicated to addressing the needs of those living with mental illness and to promoting the overall mental health of all Americans. Our work is driven by our commitment to promote mental health as a critical part of overall wellness, including prevention services for all; early identification and intervention for those at risk; integrated care, services, and supports for those who need it; with recovery as the goal.
Lyf – You’re Not Alone
About This Tool
Lyf is a new social media app where users share highly personal aspects of themselves without the fear of judgment.
Lyf users receive support during some of their most gruelling, challenging, confronting or even “embarrassing” stages of their lives from other people who have no preconceptions about their fellow lyfers. Lyfers have the opportunity to connect with and chat to others on the same life paths or journeys; whether it’s a struggle or celebration, in lyf, you aren’t alone.
Lyf is, and always will be, free to download and use for the purposes of sharing with and receiving support from fellow lyfers. However, we are excited to introduce a brand new optional service called Lyf Support for times when Lyfers might require professional guidance from fully qualified psychologists. For Lyf Support we offer a subscription package (just USD $49.99 weekly), as well as a non-subscription, single-use paid option (just USD $4.99 for 30 minutes).
Privacy Information
When it comes to privacy and the management of your personal information, please be assured, on the lyf platform: You maintain control over the disclosure of your personal information. We won’t give your personal information to third parties for direct marketing purposes We will not share your personal information with anyone except as disclosed in this policy. We treat your personal information with the highest regard to privacy and security.
We know about the symptoms of mental illness – but what does it really feel like to have one? Real people use their own words to describe everything from depression to body dysmorphia. It’s powerful and moving, and you can join if you have a social media account.
About the Creator
Mental Health America (MHA) – founded in 1909 – is the nation’s leading community-based nonprofit dedicated to addressing the needs of those living with mental illness and to promoting the overall mental health of all Americans. Our work is driven by our commitment to promote mental health as a critical part of overall wellness, including prevention services for all; early identification and intervention for those at risk; integrated care, services, and supports for those who need it; with recovery as the goal.
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This is a social media aggregator, which means it borrows any content posted on Twitter or Instagram (for example) that uses the #mentalillnessfeelslike hashtags. There are different privacy policies for each social media site. If you use the optional sharing feature, we may ask for some information for our email system, but it’s optional and up to you.
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This is not a substitute for treatment. We do moderate content to the best of our ability. It is also intended for a mature audience.
ADAA’s anonymous peer-to-peer online anxiety and depression support group is a friendly, safe and supportive place for individuals and their families to share information and experiences.As a member of ADAA’s online community you can connect with other people experiencing anxiety and depression and related disorders, contribute to ongoing conversations or start your own conversation with a question or a post about your journey.
About the Creator
The Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) is an international nonprofit membership organization dedicated to the prevention, treatment, and cure of anxiety, depression and related disorders through education, practice, and research. ADAA provides education about the disorders and helps people find treatment, resources, and support.
Content on the ADAA community does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them. This support group community is for support, comfort and to gain information and resources only. If you are in crisis, call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
ADAA has the right to block and restrict subscribers and to delete inappropriate content.
There is a 16 year and over age limit in place for our users on the ADAA community. While we understand and strongly believe that all people should be able to gain knowledge and information regarding their health and well-being, we do have to enforce an age restriction. The reason we have this rule in place is because all of the advice on the site is anonymous and mostly not professional. Some of our users may not consider the different needs of younger members, and often, it’s easy to misunderstand what someone means.
Website/Contact Info for Questions/Concerns: If you have questions, please contact Lise Bram at [email protected]
Our Inspire communities provide a place for people with similar interests to support and encourage each other 24/7 online. Inspire is the largest provider of health-specific communities. MHA staff also moderate the online support groups and communities.
About the Creator
Mental Health America (MHA) – founded in 1909 – is the nation’s leading community-based nonprofit dedicated to addressing the needs of those living with mental illness and to promoting the overall mental health of all Americans. Our work is driven by our commitment to promote mental health as a critical part of overall wellness, including prevention services for all; early identification and intervention for those at risk; integrated care, services, and supports for those who need it; with recovery as the goal.
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MHA is using Inspire’s community platform, so all of the privacy requirements are Inspire’s. Here is the link: https://www.inspire.com/about/privacy. We do know they share your email with us if you join.
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This is not a substitute for treatment. We do moderate content to the best of our ability.
Follow Mental Health America on Facebook. Our Facebook community has over 100,000 people who like to support and help each other. Comment on or share any of our posts if they resonate with you. We post tips, news, and content daily.
About the Creator
Mental Health America (MHA) – founded in 1909 – is the nation’s leading community-based nonprofit dedicated to addressing the needs of those living with mental illness and to promoting the overall mental health of all Americans. Our work is driven by our commitment to promote mental health as a critical part of overall wellness, including prevention services for all; early identification and intervention for those at risk; integrated care, services, and supports for those who need it; with recovery as the goal.
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Because it’s a Facebook page, we’re bound by Facebook’s privacy rules. They can change, and we’re not totally sure we fully understand all of them. But if you’re using Facebook already, we aren’t doing anything different with your data.
Is this condition forever? Will I always feel this way?
When you’re at your lowest point, it’s hard to imagine ever feeling better. Sometimes you might not even remember what life was like before you started experiencing the signs of mental illness. It’s easy to feel hopeless and wonder: “Am I just going to feel this way forever?”
People’s experiences vary. Some struggle for a little while and then never experience symptoms of mental illness again. Others struggle off and on throughout their lives. Some people fight a near constant battle with mental illness. There’s really no way to tell which of these will be you. All you can do is focus on how to address the symptoms you’re experiencing now.
If you have some doubts about seeking treatment, that’s okay. It’s natural to feel uncomfortable opening up to other people about your mental illness. You can start by reading more articles on this site and others, learning more about mental illness. Find someone you trust who you can talk to. But don’t wait for mental illness to go away on its own. It’s more likely to only get worse without some kind of intervention.
Recovery
Just as mental illness affects everyone in a slightly different way, each person’s recovery is unique. Some people are able to eliminate their symptoms completely. More commonly, people are able to reduce their symptoms to a manageable level. They are able to keep mental illness from controlling their lives.
Many people even get to a point where they feel grateful for what they’ve learned by living with and recovering from a mental illness. It’s okay if you never get to that point—it’s okay to just accept it, and do what you need to do to take care of yourself.
Recovery from mental illness can be a long process and it can be hard work… But it’s worth it!
Nothing is helping my depression
Even when you do everything you’re “supposed” to do, symptoms of depression can stick around. Part of the experience of depression is that it feels like it will go on forever, and when you are doing the work and not seeing any changes, it can feel hopeless and not worth the effort.
Many things that help with depression take some time to work. Medications can often take 4-6 weeks for people to notice a difference. Therapy is a process. Lifestyle changes like healthy eating, exercise, or meditation do not change your life immediately. As wonderful as it would be, there is no immediate fix. If you are doing things to work towards your recovery, it’s important to give things time to work. The small, repeated actions can eventually lead to major changes in how you are feeling.
There are options if you are trying and not seeing any progress:
If you are taking medication, you may want to talk to your doctor about trying different medications. While this can take more time, it is ultimately worth it to find a medicine or combination of medicines that work for you.
Identify other factors that might be contributing to depression. For some, physical health problems might be at the root of a mental health problem. For example, new research links depression to inflammatory diseases [1] or microbiome (gut bacteria)[2] issues. If you haven’t already looked into other physical health concerns, it’s worth checking out.
If you are working with a therapist, it’s important to speak openly about whether you find it helpful. Your sessions might be more useful if you let the person know your concerns or frustrations. Just like all relationships, sometimes things are not the right fit and you may need to explore other options. Many people try more than one therapist before they find someone they want to work with.
Finding a support group can help you feel less alone in the process and give you the opportunity to connect with others who can offer their experience and hope with you. There are many local support groups for depression and other mental health and health related issues.
For some, depression continues despite trying many of these options over a long period of time. An additional option to explore with professionals is neurostimulation, which includes things like Vagus Nerve Stimulation, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, and Electroconvulsive Therapy. These all use electric or magnetic impulses to engage the nervous system, and are typically reserved for when many other treatments have not worked.
Wherever you are in this process, know that most people do recover and that research into new antidepressant medications[3] are giving individuals even more options to eliminate or reduce depression symptoms. With the right combination of supports, people live full lives even with depression.
[1] Raison, C. L., & Miller, A. H. (2011). Is depression an inflammatory disorder?. Current psychiatry reports, 13(6), 467-475.
[2] Foster, J. A., & Neufeld, K. A. M. (2013). Gut–brain axis: how the microbiome influences anxiety and depression. Trends in neurosciences, 36(5), 305-312.
[3] Murrough, J. W., Iosifescu, D. V., Chang, L. C., Al Jurdi, R. K., Green, C. E., Perez, A. M., … & Charney, D. S. (2013). Antidepressant efficacy of ketamine in treatment-resistant major depression: a two-site randomized controlled trial. American Journal of Psychiatry, 170(10), 1134-1142.
What is mania?
Mania is a period of extreme high energy or mood associated with bipolar disorder. Everyone’s moods and energy levels change throughout the day and over time. But mania is a serious change from the way a person normally thinks or behaves, and it can last for weeks or even months. It makes sense that this could cause serious problems in a person’s relationships, work, and school.
Mania looks different for everyone, but it generally includes some of the following:
having lots of energy
feeling “euphoric” (extremely excited and happy, or even “high”)
feeling unstoppable or invincible
mind racing
speaking very quickly (mental health professionals call this “pressured speech”)
strange or unusual behavior
easily distracted or annoyed
not sleeping
impulsive behavior
intense anxiety
feeling detached from reality (psychosis)
People with bipolar disorder often have mixed feelings about their mania. You may have heard stories of artists and musicians with bipolar disorder who made their most creative work while manic. It’s common for people to take on massive new projects, like starting a new business. Feeling invincible can inspire you to be more adventurous, but it can also lead to risky behavior. Sudden increases in drug use, unprotected sex, or spending too much money are common. Even though mania usually feels really good in the moment, it still causes problems for people’s lives. Sometimes, mania can even lead to hospitalization.
It’s important to note that these are drastic changes from what a person is typically like. If someone always speaks quickly, makes impulsive decisions, and doesn’t sleep much, those probably aren’t signs of a manic episode.
see or hear things that other people can’t (hallucinations)
speak or in a way that seems disorganized or bizarre to others
be fearful or suspicious of friends or family members, strangers, or organizations (paranoia)
feel like they’re being watched
Hypomania
Hypomania is a less intense form of mania. The symptoms are similar, but its impact on people’s daily lives is not as severe. It does not involve psychotic symptoms and rarely leads to hospitalization. Because it is less disruptive, it often goes unnoticed or unreported. Hypomania is most common in bipolar II and cyclothymia.
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: Author.
Feeling sad is a normal human experience, but feeling too much sadness can cause distress and life problems. When too much sadness affects your life, you might have depression.
Depression is a type of mental illness called a mood disorder. Mood disorders occur when changes in mood go beyond the normal ups and downs we all experience from day to day. Episodes of depression last at least two weeks at a time, but sometimes they can last for months or even years.
Depression goes way beyond just feeling sad. Some of the symptoms that people with depression experience include:
Feeling or appearing low, empty inside, or irritable most of the day every day
Losing interest in activities you would normally enjoy
Changes in appetite or weight—eating more or less; gaining or losing weight
Changes in sleep—either not being able to sleep or sleeping too much
Changes in activity—feeling restless inside or feeling sluggish
Feeling exhausted even when you seem to be getting enough sleep
Speaking or moving slowly, fidgeting, or pacing
Feelings of worthlessness or guilt
Difficulty thinking, concentrating, or making decisions
Thoughts of death or suicide
You don’t have to experience all of these to be depressed. Everyone’s experience of depression is slightly different.
What else could it be?
Some things can make it seem like you have depression, when really something else is going on. For example:
Using drugs or medications that make you feel low. If a medication is making you feel depressed, you should talk to your doctor about it. If you are taking drugs or drinking lots of alcohol, they may be causing symptoms of depression—or you may be trying to self-medicate for depression or another mental illness.
Medical problems like chronic pain or thyroid problems. Sometimes treating an underlying medical problem can make the depression go away or become less severe.
Grief. If you’ve lost a loved one or are upset about a big change in your life, you can feel extremely sad for a while. If it doesn’t get better after a long time (more than two months), it can turn into full-blown depression.
Life problems
For people who have depression, the symptoms cause serious problems in their lives. The depression may cause them to withdraw from their family, friends, or partners. They may have a hard time in school or work. They might miss assignments, can’t concentrate on their work, or feel overwhelmed by activities. They may not be able to make it to school or work at all.
Stress and anxiety
It isn’t uncommon for people with depression to also feel stressed or worried. Some people get worried thinking about their depression—they can feel the depression is coming on, or worry that it won’t go away. Many people with depression also experience another type of mental illness: anxiety. Anxiety involves extreme, ongoing worry and stress.
People with depression often think about death. Thinking about death isn’t always about suicide. Many people report thinking about not existing or wondering if the world would be better without them. If there are suicidal thoughts or a plan to commit suicide, it’s important to reach out and get help. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK or text “MHA” to 741-741 to talk to a trained counselor from Crisis Text Line.
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: Author.
Everyone feels sad sometimes. When you’re sadder than usual, you might say you feel “depressed.” But how do you know when extreme sadness crosses over into clinical depression?
What’s the difference between sadness and depression?
Depression is about being sad, sure—but it’s more than that. Depression is a mental illness that involves a lot of symptoms, like feeling exhausted all the time, losing interest in activities you normally enjoy, or thoughts of death and suicide. Episodes of depression last at least 2 weeks at a time. They can be triggered by a sad event or they can seemingly come of out of nowhere.
How do I know if I’m sad or depressed?
If you’re sad because you lost your job, are going through a breakup, or lost someone in your life… it’s certainly no fun, but it’s also pretty normal. Sadness, even extreme sadness, is a natural reaction to events like these. That said, regular sadness can also turn into depression. If the feelings don’t get better over time, or if your mood starts to get in the way of your daily life, you might be developing a case of depression.
Physical changes can also affect your mood, like hormone changes due to puberty or certain medical treatments or conditions. If you think you might be depressed, it’s a good idea to have a doctor review any medications you’re taking and test your thyroid and other hormone levels.
If you still aren’t sure why you’re feeling down, or if mental illness of any kind runs in your family, there’s a decent chance you’re experiencing depression. If you haven’t already done so, consider taking our depression screen.
What now?
The good news is, depression is treatable. You can seek professional help from a doctor or a therapist, or there are also lots of things you can do on your own. (Even if you’re just feeling sad and don’t have clinical depression, many of our DIY resources can still help you feel better.) You can also start by learning more about what depression is, what causes it, and how it’s treated.
There will be some people who just won’t get it, but it’s not your job to convince them—just keep trying to find a support system that works for you. The suggestions below are just that: suggestions. Start with whichever option is most comfortable for you right now. You can always open up to more people later on.
Friends and family
If you already have supportive friends and family, opening up to them can be a great place to start. It can be a huge relief to open up to the people closest to you, since you no longer have to hide what you’re feeling. You can also open up to coaches, teachers, or religious leaders—anyone in your personal life that you’re close to.
Professionals
Professionals you can open up to about your mental health include doctors, therapists, or peer supporters. If you already see a doctor, that can be a great place to start—and they can help you find a therapist or any other specialists you may need to see. If you’re in school, a school counselor can help you with this.
Support groups
Support groups are made up of people who have experienced similar things. They can meet in person or online. They talk about their daily lives, struggles, and strategies they’ve used to cope and thrive. It can be nice to feel like you belong in a community, and to hear about other people experiencing the same things you have.
Anonymous help lines
Hotlines, warmlines, online support, or text lines can help, too. These are typically run by trained volunteers or employees whose job it is to listen to those who reach out. Talking to a stranger can help you feel safer about what you’re sharing, and strangers may be able to offer more objective feedback than the people involved in our lives.
What do I say?
If you’re not sure what to say, try writing your thoughts down first. This can help you get your words straight so you know how to express yourself. You can even write a letter to the person, if you find that easier than talking to them. Try using a help line or a support group as “practice” for opening up to friends, family, or professionals that you might feel more nervous about talking to.
