Mental health support during the holidays

Christmas can affect our mental health for lots of reasons, but there are things you can do to support your mental wellbeing. 

If you're worried about something it's important to talk to someone, that could be a friend, relative or one of the support services below. 

Tips on dealing with Christmas

The following services offer advice and support to help you cope with the Christmas period: 

• Mind offers tips for coping during Christmas including coping with money worries, planning, looking after yourself and useful contacts. 
• Mental Health UK has some useful advice for navigating your mental load this Christmas, including triggers and advice to help you cope. 
•  Rethink: How can I manage my mental health over Christmas? article includes some useful information on money worries, coping with social events, relationships, grief and eating disorders. 
• Mental Health Foundation: Tips for looking after your mental health at Christmas  offering advice on staying well over the holidays, including tips to deal with loneliness, eating well, being active and tips to take care of yourself. 

Services

The following services can help you during the Christmas period: 

• NHS: Mental health for crisis mental health support, call 111 and select option 2.This is available 24/7 and is for people of all ages, including children, who are in crisis; concerned family and loved ones can also contact this number.
• Samaritans are available 24 hours a day Call: 116 123 and can be an invaluable point of contact in the small hours when other help lines are often closed.
• Papyrus offer HOPELine UK a specialist telephone service staffed by trained professionals who give non-judgemental support,practical advice and information to Children, teenagers and young people who are worried about how they are feeling. Their phone service is open 24/7, every day of the year. Call: 0800 068 41 41 Email: pat@papyrus-uk.org Text: 07786 209697.
• Childline for children and young people under the age of 19 can call 0800 1111 in confidence and the number will not appear on an itemised phone bill. Childline is available 24/7 over the Christmas period.
• Cruse  promotes the well-being of bereaved people and enables anyone bereaved by death to understand their grief and cope with their loss. Email: helpline@cruse.org.uk or call 0808 808 1677.
• Sane offers practical information, crisis care and emotional support to anybody affected by mental health problems. SANEline are open every day of the year from 4pm-10pm. Call on: 0300 3047000.
• Child Bereavement UK offers support to UK families when a child of any age dies or when a child is facing a bereavement. Call 0800 02 888 40. This service operates 9-5, Monday-Friday (except bank holidays).
• Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide access support by email or look up support information and find local support networks close to home.
• Support After Suicide is a network of organisations that support people who have been bereaved or affected by suicide. The website has information on practical support, emotional support as well as downloadable support guides.
• Winston’s Wish national Helpline offers support, information and guidance to those caring for a bereaved child or young person.  Helpline: 08452 03 04 05.

The above services are available during the Christmas period, you can view additional mental health support services on our Look after your mental health page.