Mental Health Resources

In a year, 1 in 5 Australians will directly experience mental illness. In the UK, it's 1 in 4. Mental illness is not weak. Mental illness is not rare. Mental illness is not shameful. Here are some potentially helpful links.

Resources: Immediate Help

Australia:

Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467. Sign up for free online counselling on the site. For those considering and affected by suicide.

SANE helpline: 1800 187 263

Beyond Blue helpline: 1300 22 4636 and instant chat

Mensline helpline: 1300 78 99 78. Sign up for free online counselling and forums.

UK:

Samaritans 24 hour helpline: 08457 90 90 90.

Mind helpline Mon-Fri 9-6: 0300 123 3393.

CALM helpline 5pm-midnight, for men 15-35: 0800 58 58 58.

HOPELine UK, 10-5 7-10, weekends 2-5, for young people: 0800 068 41 41. Text 07786 209697.

Alternatives to self-harm

Resources: Helping Others

• Look After Your Mate: a brilliant advice booklet. Covers specific diagnoses: EDs, depression, OCD, psychosis, bipolar, anxiety.
• SANE's tips for how to help a suicidal friend.
• Beyond Blue's guide for carers of people experiencing anxiety and depression. 

Resources: Helping Yourself

• Anxiety and Depression Checklist. A quick way to check up on your own mental health.
• Living Life to the Full: FREE online Cognitive Behavioural Therapy course recommended by doctors. CBT is a great way to train yourself to think differently. 
• Tips on how to start a conversation about your own mental health.
• SANE's tips on dealing with bereavement after a suicide.
• And a whole website dedicated to Support after Suicide.
• P.S: as long as you have both options, please don't use self-diagnosis as an alternative to seeking professional help.

It's a hackneyed comparison, but seeking help for mental health issues should be as easy and common as seeking help for physical health issues. If I get a cold, I rest up a little; if it goes to my throat, I see someone. Seeking help is never something to be ashamed of. Like physical illnesses, practically everyone - I'd say everyone - will experience something, to some degree. The feeling that nobody cares or that your own mental state is insufficiently bad to 'bother anyone over' is part of being ill and yet another reason to seek help.

Basically, talking is so, so important. Ask people how they are doing. Tell people how you feel. Whether well or ill, we can all play a part in stopping stigma from silencing us.