I Need Help Now

It might not feel like it in this moment, but you are not alone. You have options. You can access professional support right now. This page is designed to help you understand and manage your situation and source support.

  • What am I feeling right now?

    You might not be able to identify immediately what you are feeling and what you are experiencing right now- you might be overwhelmed, confused and frightened, particularly if this is new. Access ideas to help.

  • Who Can I Talk To?

    Talk your feelings through with someone you trust. Please be assured that there are people who will listen to you and support you. Here are some options.

  • What Can I Do To Help Myself Cope

    If you feel out of control or overwhelmed, check out these tips from mental health charity MIND to help calm yourself down.

  • How Can I Distract Myself?

    Actively shifting your attention onto something else may help you distract yourself if you are finding it hard to deal with how you are feeling right now. Check out MIND’s suggestions.

  • What Support Can I Access?

    There is a huge amount of professional support available to you. If you are not sure where to start, call the Employee Assistance Programme Telephone Helpline Tel: 0800 1116 387 or +44 845 330 5132 from abroad anytime and ask for Immediate Emotional Support.

  • Mental Health Crisis Advice from the NHS

    A mental health crisis often means that you no longer feel able to cope or be in control of your situation. Check out the NHS pages on dealing with a mental health crisis.

  • Medical Emergency

    If you have a medical emergency, view the Health and Safety Office pages for guidance.

  • What Have Others Been Through?

    Reading about other people’s stories and experiences may help you feel less alone and raise your awareness of the different ways staff like you can access support. Check out our case studies.

  • Helping Other Staff

    It can be hard to know what to do when supporting someone with a mental health problem and showing they are not alone. Here are a few things you can do to help.

  • Helping Students

    Staff concerned about students should see Student and Education Services web pages.

What Am I Feeling Right Now?

You might not be able to immediately identify what you are feeling and experiencing right now – you might feel overwhelmed, confused and unsure what to do next. Take a look at the ideas below where you can read about common symptoms of mental health and emotional difficulties.

Option A: Talk your feelings through with someone you trust

Option B: Try writing down your thoughts and feelings. If you don’t feel able to talk to someone yet, reading about your experiences in your own words may help you make more sense of them. This provides a chance for you to be more aware of your symptoms, read about what they might mean, and understand your situation a little better. You don’t have to show them to anyone.

It may also help you give a starting point to work out what information would be helpful to you right now. You can reflect on this later, and also use it as a reference point for talking to other people.

Option C: Be more informed about signs and symptoms. Recognising your experiences on the MIND information and support pages might help you make sense of what's happening. The Counselling Directory also has a detailed library of mental health fact sheets.

Option D: Try an NHS online mood assessment test. You will be asked questions about common symptoms of mental health which will indicate whether you are experiencing anxiety and depression. Based on the results you be able to read up on advice and actions you could take to start taking action on how you are feeling.

Option E: Try a free resilience test recommended by O.E.D. and developed by former Distinguished Professor at Lancaster University Sir Cary Cooper.

Who Can I Talk To?

Talk your feelings through with someone you trust. This could be:

  • Able Futures (free on 0800 321 3137 from 8am to 10.30pm, Monday to Friday or apply online.
  • A colleague
  • A counselling professional through the Employee Assistance Programme- (call the Telephone Helpline Tel: 0800 1116 387 or +44 845 330 5132 from abroad anytime and state you want immediate emotional support),
  • A friend or family member
  • Your GP
  • Your HR partner
  • If you have already been given a Crisis Line number from a health professional, call it.
  • If you're under the care of a mental health team and have a specific care plan that states who to contact when you need urgent care, follow this plan. The charity Mind provides information about how to plan for a crisis.
  • Your Line Manager, Head of Department, other senior staff member
  • NHS 111 can help if you have an urgent medical problem and you’re not sure what to do
  • One of the Specialist Support organisations like Samaritans (call 116 123)
  • Someone from a relevant university network
  • Your Union representative

What Support Is Out There For Me?

There is a huge amount of professional support available to you. If you are not sure where to start, call the Employee Assistance Programme Telephone Helpline Tel: 0800 1116 387 or +44 845 330 5132 from abroad anytime and ask for Immediate Emotional Support.

Helping Another Staff Member

It can be hard to know what to do when supporting someone with a mental health problem and showing they are not alone. Here are a few things you can do to help:

There’s also some great resources with specialist information about how to help people with a range of mental health conditions on MIND’s helping someone else web page.

Don't forget you can also call the EAP dedicated manager support helpline Tel: 0800 1116385 or the general EAP helpline 0800 1116 387 if you need to talk to someone about your concerns and how they are affecting you.

You can also contact the Wellbeing Work Group if you have any questions.

Five Ways to Wellbeing

Find out about the other pathways to wellbeing below to improve your wellbeing:

Five Ways to Wellbeing