A mental health crisis is when someone has a sudden, rapid deterioration in their mental health (for example, a panic attack, hallucinations, or uncontrollable anxiety), or when they are in immediate danger of harming themselves or harming others.
A person in a mental health crisis needs a rapid response and urgent care. Instant Counselling is a paid service that should not be used by someone in a crisis. Please refrain from using our service if you're in immediate danger or sucidal and contact your local emergency service (e.g. Samaritans, 911).
We have compiled some UK only resources that can be helpful for you.
Those with a pre-existing mental health condition may already have a crisis care plan.
If you do have one, have a look to find the details of the people who are listed to support you during a crisis, and contact them. Have a read through the section on what will help you when you are in a crisis.
If you are thinking about killing yourself
If you are in immediate danger please:
- Call 999 or
- Go to your nearest A&E department
If you are not in immediate danger but are frightened by suicidal thoughts, you can:
If you are thinking about harming yourself
Sometimes you may feel the urge to harm yourself to deal with extreme feelings that you may be having. If you are thinking about harming yourself you can:
- Talk to your GP or someone you trust
- Contact the Samaritans on 116 123 or by email
- You can also find some tips on how to deal with self harm urges here
If you have harmed yourself
If you have injured yourself and it is an emergency, you should:
- Call 999 or
- Visit your nearest A&E department
If it is not an emergency you can:
- Call the NHS on 111 for advice on how to take care of your injuries
- Ensure that you keep any injuries clean and use clean dressings
If you are thinking about harming others
Sometimes you may experience unsettling or frightening thoughts about harming other people. Remember that, although these thoughts are scary, you don’t have to act upon them. If you have had thoughts like these before, you can think about what helped you last time that stopped you from acting upon them. You can also:
- Contact your local Crisis Resolution Home Treatment (CRHT) team
- Call Samaritans' 24-hour free helpline on 116 123
If you feel that there is a serious, immediate risk that you will cause harm to another person, you can:
- Call 999 or
- Visit your nearest A&E department
If you are having confusing, disordered or unusual thoughts or actions, or if you are really unhappy about something
Sometimes you may feel overwhelmed by your emotions and find them difficult to handle. If you feel that you are unable to make sense of the thoughts you are having, or if people around you are concerned about your behaviour or the thoughts you are having, you can talk to somebody that you trust. However, you can also:
- Talk to your GP
- Contact your local Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment (CRHT) team
- Call Samaritans on 116 123 or contact them by email
- Call Mind Infoline on 0300 123 3393 or text them on 86463, open Mon-Fri 9am-6pm
- Call Saneline on 0300 304 7000 from 6pm-11pm
- For anxiety, you can call the NoPanic helpline on 0844 967 4848, open everyday from 10:00am - 10:00pm
- For under 25s, there is the Get Connected helpline on 0808 808 4994 and you can also email or chat to them online
