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The following feelings, thoughts and behaviours may be warning signs that you, or someone you know, may be in mental health distress.

Feelings

• Frequently feeling anxious, afraid or guilty
• Having bouts of depression and deep sadness
• Being unable to enjoy things you usually like doing
• Often feeling bad about yourself or your appearance
• Not wanting to do anything, go anywhere, see anyone
• Feeling distant, wooden, operating in 'slow motion'
• Being overly irritable, angry or aggressive
• Feeling tired and lacking energy much of the time
• Feeling extremely positive and full of energy
• Swinging between positive and negative feelings

Behaviour

• Becoming withdrawn, avoiding social contact
• Crying easily and frequently
• Suddenly doing less well in school/college
• Changes in behaviour, such as drug taking, alcohol abuse, aggression, crime, risk taking, promiscuity
• Changes in sleeping or eating patterns
• Going to extreme lengths to avoid certain situations
• Dieting all the time, refusing to eat in public
• Neglecting responsibilities or personal appearance
• Being very lethargic, or having a lot of energy
• Speaking rapidly and incoherently
• Spending extravagant and unrealistic sums of money

Thoughts

• Talking or writing about things that don't make sense
• Thinking about dying, suicide or harming yourself
• Having frequent negative or worrying thoughts
• Difficulty concentrating or making decisions
• Very rapid thoughts and ideas
• Hearing voices or seeing things that aren't there
• Thinking you're someone else (like a famous person or religious figure) or you have special powers
• Believing without reason that someone is spying on you, plotting against you, or trying to harm you
• Believing you're being harmed or controlled against your will, for example by TV, aliens or the devil

Situations

The following are examples of situations that can contribute to mental health problems. Not everyone will react in the same way to stressful situations, and some people will have strong support networks already in place to help them deal with tough times.

• Worrying about study pressures or school failure
• Being bullied, teased or excluded / left out
• Family conflict or breakdown of a close relationship
• Sexual, physical or emotional abuse or neglect
• Worrying or being uncertain about sexuality
• Work pressures, losing a job, being made redundant
• Having financial or legal worries
• Worry about a court appearance
• Coping with having parents with an addiction
• Losing friends
• Being a victim of crime or violence
• Surviving a disaster or traumatic event
• Having a parent or carer with a mental illness
• Having a serious or chronic illness
• Serious or chronic illness in a loved one
• Experiencing the death of a loved one

If you're worried about a friend or family member, or a young person you know, it can be very hard to know what to do. Check out our Offering Support section for more information.