Talk to someone if worried about mental or emotional wellbeing
Date published:
Loneliness
Loneliness can have an impact on your mental and emotional wellbeing.
Sometimes admitting you feel lonely is difficult. Many people have experienced, or are experiencing, feelings of loneliness.
Some people are still finding it difficult to reconnect again because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and to reach out and speak to people.
It’s important to try to reconnect with friends, family and communities, and to look out for those who may be experiencing loneliness.
If you're struggling with loneliness and isolation and need to speak to someone, there are a number of helplines available on the Helplines NI website.
Start a caring conversation
Start a caring conversation with someone you're concerned about and let the person know about that concern.
Give them the space to explain what's going on with them and how they're feeling.
Offering a gentle word of support and listening in a non-judgemental way can make all the difference. Encourage them to tell their story in their own way and at their own pace, and let them know that you will support them to find the help that they need.
By asking the person the questions, ‘are you feeling a bit low?’ or ‘are you worried about something?’ you're acknowledging their distress and giving them the chance to talk about something that is probably very frightening for them.
It's even ok to ask someone if they have had thoughts about harming themselves or about suicide.
Talking about how they're feeling could be the first step towards recovery.
You can find information on what you can say and do to help someone on this Public Health Agency leaflet.
Training courses
There are a number of training courses available in mental and emotional wellbeing and suicide prevention.
You can find out more at this link:
Recognising potential warning signs
There are some early warning signs that may show mental ill-health or a mental health problem, including:
- mood swings or a consistently lower mood
- lack of care for personal appearance or personal responsibilities
- increased use of alcohol or other drugs
- talking about not wanting to live
- a loss of interest in doing things they previously enjoyed
- withdrawing from social activities or spending less time with family and friends
- disturbed sleep, perhaps not getting enough sleep or sleeping too much
- eating less than normal or overeating, perhaps losing or gaining weight
- being more irritable, over-sensitive or aggressive
- having difficulty following a conversation, remembering things or concentrating
- experiencing recurrent physical symptoms such as aches and pains or unexplained illnesses
- a drop in work performance
- doing things that don’t make sense to others
- hearing or seeing things that no-one else can hear or see
Someone who’s having suicidal thoughts may not ask for help, but that doesn’t mean they don’t want help and support. It can be difficult finding the words to express what they're feeling.
You can find out more about what to do if you think someone might be in need of immediate help on the Mental health emergency - if you're in crisis or despair page.
You can find out more about mental health at the pages below:
In distress or despair - Lifeline
If you or someone you know is in distress or despair, contact Lifeline on:
- phone: 0808 808 8000
- internet: Lifeline website
This is a confidential service, where trained counsellors will listen and help immediately on the phone and follow up with other support if necessary. The helpline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Take steps to improve your wellbeing
By taking simple steps and introducing them into everyday life you can improve your mental health and wellbeing. This includes things such as:
- connecting with people - spending time developing relationships with family, friends, colleagues and neighbours at home, work, school or in your local community
- becoming more active - go for a walk or run, cycle, play a game, garden or dance
- taking notice of the world around you - what can you see, feel, smell or even taste? Look for beautiful, new, unusual or extraordinary things in your everyday life and think about how that makes you feel
- keep learning - try something new, sign up for a course, rediscover an old hobby, or set a challenge you will enjoy (learning new things will make you more confident, as well as being fun to do)
- give - doing something nice for a friend or a stranger, thanking someone, or volunteering; seeing yourself, and your happiness, linked to the wider community can be incredibly rewarding and creates connections with the people around you
These can all lead to improving your wellbeing.