Mental health

Everyone has mental health as well as physical health and thinking about it going wrong can be just as scary, perhaps more so, because it is often less obvious than a cold or a broken arm.

You might notice any or all of these signs:

• becoming moody

• having trouble sleeping

• feeling unusually anxious or on edge

• feeling down

• having gloomy thoughts a lot

• losing your mojo

• snapping at people

• not feeling like yourself

• losing interest in friends

• cutting yourself off

• wanting to hurt yourself

• wondering why other people bother with you

• hating the way you look

• feeling everyone hates you

• feeling trapped

• depending on food, drink or drugs to feel better

Some of these things happen to everyone at some time. For instance, if you lose your job, or no-one seems to understand you. Maybe you are stressed by a move, or exams, or a new baby. Perhaps someone close to you has died, or let you down.

How well you cope depends on your emotional resilience and sometimes that needs some professional help. Rather like how well you recover from a bad chest infection depends on your immune system, but can be helped by antibiotics. Counselling is here to help you put the pieces back together and feel yourself again.