How to tell if someone is struggling with their mental health

Signs of mental health can include:

Not being able to focus.

Low energy.

Easily distracted.

Changes in the way someone speaks.

Not wanting to spend time with other people.

Self-harm.

Self-harm is when someone hurts themselves as a way of dealing with difficult feelings.

Very low mood, for example feeling very sad or miserable.

Struggling with their confidence.

Panicking about everything.

Feeling very stressed by small tasks.

One way to understand how someone is feeling is by asking open-ended questions.  

Open-ended questions do not have a yes or no answer. This means people share more information. 

Some questions you could ask are: 

• How have you been feeling today?​ 

• How long have you been feeling like this?​ 

• What do you think might have caused you to feel this way? ​ 

• Is there any way that I can help?​ 

• What sort of support do you want? 

Keeping quiet about something you've been told can be difficult. It can depend on what the person has shared with you. 

If you think the person is at risk, or might put others in danger, you must tell someone. This is called safeguarding.  

Try not to make any promises that you cannot keep. ​You might not always be able to keep what someone has told you totally private.  

If someone tells you they are feeling very anxious about something, then you can keep that confidential. But also should also encourage them to get support.  

They may...

find it difficult to make decisions.

look unhappy and upset.

be more quiet than they usually are.

stay away from other people.

have a miserable mood.

have a lack of self-esteem.

Self-esteem is how we see and value ourselves. It can affect whether you like yourself as a person.

not do everyday tasks.

be easily frustrated.

No! We are all different.

People might act in different ways when they feel very low.

This Easy Read has been created in partnership with Generate.