Skip to main content
N I Direct government services

Main navigation

  • Home
  • News
  • Contacts
  • Help
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • RSS

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. News

Talk to someone if worried about mental or emotional wellbeing

Date published: 02 February 2023

Talk to someone if you're worried about your or someone else's mental or emotional wellbeing. Mental health issues can affect anyone at any time of life and in different ways. Anyone who is in distress or despair can contact the Lifeline helpline on 0808 808 8000.

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:

  • Training 

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:

  • Mental health
  • Introduction to mental health

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.

More useful links

  • Your local doctor (GP)
  • Mental health services
  • Your child's mental health
  • Minding Your Head
Share this page Share on Facebook (external link opens in a new window / tab) Share on Twitter (external link opens in a new window / tab) Share by email (external link opens in a new window / tab)

Featured news

  • James and Grace most popular baby names
  • Taking steps to manage stress better
  • Remember to put clocks forward this weekend
  • Important to recognise tuberculosis (TB) symptoms early
More news ...

Translation help

How to translate this page

Help improve this page - send your feedback

What do you want to do?
Report a problem
Which problem did you find on this page? (Tick all that apply)

Messages

You will not receive a reply. We will consider your feedback to help improve the site.

Don't include any personal or financial information, for example National Insurance, credit card numbers, or phone numbers.

What is your question about?

What to do next

Comments or queries about angling can be emailed to anglingcorrespondence@daera-ni.gov.uk 

If you have a comment or query about benefits, you will need to contact the government department or agency which handles that benefit.  Contacts for common benefits are listed below.

Carer's Allowance

Call 0800 587 0912
Email 
dcs.incomingpostteamdhc2@nissa.gsi.gov.uk

Discretionary support / Short-term benefit advance

Call 0800 587 2750 
Email 
customerservice.unit@communities-ni.gov.uk

Disability Living Allowance

Call 0800 587 0912 
Email dcs.incomingpostteamdhc2@nissa.gsi.gov.uk

Employment and Support Allowance

Call 0800 587 1377

Jobseeker’s Allowance

Contact your local Jobs & Benefits office

Personal Independence Payment

Call 0800 587 0932

If your query is about another benefit, select ‘Other’ from the drop-down menu above.

Comments or queries about the Blue Badge scheme can be emailed to bluebadges@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk or you can also call 0300 200 7818.

For queries or advice about careers, contact the Careers Service.

For queries or advice about Child Maintenance, contact the Child Maintenance Service.

For queries or advice about claiming compensation due to a road problem, contact DFI Roads claim unit.

If you can’t find the information you’re looking for in the Coronavirus (COVID-19) section, then for queries about:

  • Restrictions or regulations — contact the Department of Health
  • Travel advice (including self-isolation) — contact the Department of Health
  • Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccinations — contact the Department of Health or Public Health Agency

If your query is about another topic, select ‘Other’ from the drop-down menu above.

For queries about your identity check, email nida@nidirect.gov.uk and for queries about your certificate, email covidcertni@hscni.net.

For queries or advice about criminal record checks, email ani@accessni.gov.uk

Application and payment queries can be emailed to ema_ni@slc.co.uk

For queries or advice about employment rights, contact the Labour Relations Agency.

For queries or advice about birth, death, marriage and civil partnership certificates and research, contact the General Register Office Northern Ireland (GRONI) by email gro_nisra@finance-ni.gov.uk

For queries about the High Street Spend Local Scheme,  email HSSS.mail@economy-ni.gov.uk.

For queries about:

  • Car tax, vehicle registration and SORN
    contact the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), Swansea
     
  • Driver licensing and tests, MOT and vehicle testing
    contact the Driver & Vehicle Agency (DVA), Northern Ireland

If your query is about another topic, select ‘Other’ from the drop-down menu above.

For queries about your identity check, email nida@nidirect.gov.uk.

 

For queries or advice about passports, contact HM Passport Office.

For queries or advice about Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs), including parking tickets and bus lane PCNs, email dcu@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk

For queries or advice about pensions, contact the Northern Ireland Pension Centre.

If you wish to report a problem with a road or street you can do so online in this section.

If you wish to check on a problem or fault you have already reported, contact DfI Roads.

For queries or advice about historical, social or cultural records relating to Northern Ireland, use the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) enquiry service.

For queries or advice about rates, email LPSCustomerTeam@lpsni.gov.uk

For queries or advice about  60+ and Senior Citizen SmartPasses (which can be used to get concessionary travel on public transport), contact Smartpass - Translink.

If you have a question about a government service or policy, you should contact the relevant government organisation directly.  We don't have access to information about you.

Related sites

  • gov.uk
  • nibusinessinfo.co.uk

Links to supporting information

  • Accessibility statement
  • Crown copyright
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy
  • Cookies
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • RSS