Everyone has times when they feel intense feelings, like sadness, fear or worry. Having these feelings is not anything to be embarrassed about – it’s completely normal.

Talking to someone about how you’re feeling can really help. They will be able to tell you a time when they felt like that too, or even offer some ideas that may help.

Sometimes these feelings might continue to get bigger and start to influence the way we think and feel (our mental health). They might also start to affect our daily life such as our sleep and concentration and things we enjoy doing. When this happens it’s really important that we don’t ignore it.

If you feel like you are in crisis, stop, take a breath and follow these steps:

1. Be kind to yourself. It’s OK not to feel quite like yourself.
2. Talk to your family and friends, or someone at school if you have any worries. Keep in touch with other relatives with phone calls, WhatsApp or texts.
3. It’s okay to feel sad, stressed and angry during a crisis. Allow time for a mental health break and try to take part in something you enjoy.
4. Eating regular meals is really important to help with your energy levels. Drink lots of water too to help keep the brain active.
5. Eat lots of fruit and vegetables throughout the day.
6. Get some fresh air. Walking to school is a good way of exercising and meeting up with friends. If you can’t do that, maybe get off the bus a stop earlier.
7. Structure your day with things you can realistically achieve. Don’t be over ambitious. Try to remind yourself to take each day at a time.
8. Get into a regular bedtime routine aiming for seven to eight hours rest each night. Getting a good night’s sleep is a really positive thing. Try to find relaxing activities as you prepare for bed (warm drink, bath, music)
9. If you’re feeling stressed, think back to a time you have overcome stress before. What helped then? Can you use those things again?
10. Try not to watch too much negative TV. Watch funny programmes instead to make you laugh. It may help make you feel happier or distract you for a while.

Self-help tools and resources

• Young Minds: UK’s mental health charity for children and young people. Parents helpline: 0808 802 5544. YoungMinds YouTube channel
• Childline: Free, confidential support for children and young people. Phone: 0800 1111
• Every Mind Matters: tools to manage and improve mental health
• The Mix: an online service and telephone helpline for young people
• Minded for Families: a free mental health learning resource
• Life Signs: information about self-injury and a network for support
• Rise Above: helpful tips for building confidence and managing anxiety
• Harmless: support for issues related to self-harm and suicide

Local support

• Find emotional health and wellbeing support from East Sussex School Health.
• Find local NHS mental health resources for young people at the ICS Sussex website.
• East Sussex 1Space has a wide range of support services.
• i-Rock: Support for ages 14 to 25 with emotional wellbeing, housing and education. Email: irockeastsussex@spft.nhs.uk
• E-motion: Free online counselling for 12 to 18-year-olds.
• E-wellbeing: A digital service for young people aged 13 to 25, created by young people.
• Sussex Mental Healthline: 24/7 support for anyone in crisis or distress. Phone: 0800 0309 500.
• Sussex CAMHS: Specialist NHS mental health support for children and young people. Referrals: 01323 464222.
• Family Hub: Parenting support and strategies.

Some apps that you may find helpful

• Calm Harm - provides tasks that can help you resist or manage the urge to self-harm.
• MindShift - aims to help you learn how to relax and develop new ways of thinking to help your anxiety.
• SAM - an app to support young people to understand and cope with anxiety.
• Virtual Hope Box - to support people experiencing a wide range of emotional wellbeing/mental health difficulties, people who are stressed or having negative thoughts.
• Breathe with me - A useful app if you are feeling anxious. It guides you through some calm breathing.