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Feeling down

We all feel down sometimes. Some people more often than others. Feeling happy one day and sad the next just makes you human; it’s part of life. Do you feel lonely? Are you having a tough time at home or in school? Or did you end up in a tricky situation you don’t know how to get out of? Sometimes, we feel down without even knowing why. There are endless reasons why you might feel worried or anxious. Regardless of what you’re going through, you can chat with us. We’re here for you!

Do you feel lonely?

Feeling lonely is very common. Sometimes, we choose to be by ourselves because we enjoy it and it makes us happy. But sometimes, being alone isn’t a choice: ‘involuntary loneliness’ can be very difficult and make you feel really sad. Like when you feel you don’t fit in with your classmates or friends, when something happens at home that’s hard to talk about, or when we simply don’t feel great in our own skin.
Feeling lonely is not unusual: it’s a feeling many of us get from time to time. So you’re not alone in feeling alone! Talking about these things with someone else can make you feel a bit better. If you want to talk about loneliness, we’re here for you – you can always drop by and chat with us.

Worry and anxiety

Worrying won’t hurt you. But feeling extremely worried over long periods of time can be hard. There are all kinds of reasons why you might feel worried – from waiting to find out how you did on a test at school, to not knowing what’s going to happen to a family member who’s ill. Sometimes, we don’t even know why we feel worried but can’t seem to shake the feeling – we call that kind of worry ‘anxiety’. It’s really important to talk about worry and anxiety, even when it feels hard to do so. Because keeping these feelings bottled up can make it hard to relax, sleep, hang out with your friends or concentrate at school. Sometimes, it can even feel like you can’t breathe or like your heart is beating too fast. We’re here for you if you want to talk. You can be anonymous and we’ll always support you, no matter why you feel worried or anxious.

Chat with us

Panic attacks

Having a panic attack can be extremely scary and frightening. It can feel like your body is seizing up and it’s hard to breathe and your heart is hammering too fast. Sometimes, a panic attack can make you faint or make you cry so much it feels like you’re losing control. When you’re in the middle of a panic attack, it can feel like it will never end. Luckily, the feeling usually goes away quickly. Having a panic attack isn’t dangerous in and of itself. But it’s usually a sign that stress, worry, anxiety, sorrow or another feeling has been building up in your body for a long time.
Sometimes, a panic attack can be triggered by a sudden shocking event, like when you get bad news that will have a negative effect on your life. Often, however, panic attacks seem to come out of nowhere. That’s why it’s important to try and identify their cause. A panic attack is often your body’s way of telling you you need help. It’s not always easy to know what you need help with. But talking to someone about your feelings can be a good place to start. You can anonymously chat with us, we listen and have your back.

Common questions and thoughts

Here are some of the questions we get a lot about feeling down.

Having a lot going on at school or in life in general can cause stress. Or sometimes, we’re stressed because we feel like we’re not good enough, like we need to do better. If it’s hard to destress at night, don’t just shrug off the issue, because stress isn’t good for you. ‘Relaxing’ means different things to different people, but it’s always a good idea to start by talking about your stress and where it comes from. Chat with us anonymously; we’ll listen and help you think things through. And remember: you are valuable, no matter what your grades say.

Self-harm can be a way of managing feelings that are hard to bear. Those feelings can have all kinds of causes. Hurting yourself can feel good in the moment, but it will make things worse in the long run. There are much better ways to manage your feelings. Step one is telling someone how you feel. Life can get better! Other people have been where you are right now; they got out of that dark place with the help of others. Chat with us anonymously and tell us how you’re doing.

For many people, it means a lot when a friend supports them when they’re down. Ask how your friend is doing and listen without trying to offer any solutions. Just show that you’ll keep being their friend, regardless of how they’re feeling. Often, you showing that you care is part of what your friend needs. If things are more serious, it might be a good idea to contact an adult or a professional, like someone who works at your school. Drop by and chat with us, we can help you figure out ways to help your friend. Important: if you believe a friend is about to take their own life, call 112!

Suicidal thoughts

It’s not unusual to wonder what it would be like to no longer be alive. Maybe you sometimes wish you were dead, or even wonder how you could take your own life. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you actually want to end your life. Perhaps you’re feeling incredibly sad and like things will never be better again. But no one should have to constantly walk around thinking they want to kill themselves. It doesn’t matter why you’re considering suicide: what matters is that you get help.

You’re not the only one who’s ever thought about suicide; usually, it helps to talk to someone about your feelings. You can chat with us anonymously, we’ll always listen and have your back. Or you can call Mind’s suicide hotline at 90 101, or chat with them – Mind’s chat is open 24/7. If you’re afraid you’re going to kill yourself soon, call 112 straight away.

Mind's support chat

Grief

All of us will have to deal with grief at some point: it’s part of life. There are many different reasons why you might be grieving. We often talk about grief in the context of death, like when you’ve lost someone you were close with, or a pet you loved. But you can also grieve the end of a relationship, or feel grief when thinking about someone who’s having a really rough time. Maybe people told you that grieving means you should feel sad and cry, that time will make it better and that your grief will eventually go away? Sure, sometimes that’s what grief is like. But when a loved one dies, it’s not always that simple.
There’s no right or wrong way to grieve, your feelings can change from day to day, even hour to hour. Grief isn’t a disease (although it can feel that way sometimes). Bottling up your grief without talking about it can make you feel worse, make it hard to sleep or make you feel worried and anxious. Even though it can be hard to talk about your grief, it’s important to do so. If you don’t want to talk to someone you know, you can anonymously chat with us instead. Here, you can talk about grief in whatever way you like. We’ll always listen and support you.