Where to go for support

Call: If you are a child or young person, parent or carer in crisis, you can call the Alder Hey CAMHS crisis care line 24 hours a day, seven days a week on freephone 0808 196 3550, Email CrisisCare@alderhey.nhs.uk.

Face-to-face: YPAS’s Alternative to Crisis Drop-In provides a safe space for children and young people to come to. Our trained professional staff will listen and support you through difficult times. Available across three community hubs.

Text: the word SHOUT to 85258 for a free, confidential, 24/7 text message support service for anyone who is feeling overwhelmed or struggling to cope.

The service is staffed by trained volunteers who will help you take your next steps towards feeling better. We can help with issues such as stress, anxiety, and depression and are here to talk at any time of day or night.

Online: Kooth

Young Minds also have useful information and tips to help you deal with depression.

Depression

We all feel different emotions throughout our lives. Sometimes we might feel happy, excited, lucky or proud and sometimes we might feel sad, down, worried or scared. Usually, these bad feelings go away eventually by themselves, but sometimes you feel sad, down and hopeless for a long time. It can then become hard to think about or do other things in your life. This is known as depression.

Facts

One in ten people will be diagnosed with depression in their life, though the number of people who actually experience depression may be higher

Symptoms

Depression affects people in different ways, but some of the ways you’re feeling may include:

Feeling sad or down
Not enjoying things that you once did
Sleeping more or less than previously used to
Eating more or less than previously used to
Struggling to concentrate on things like schoolwork, reading, watching television etc.
Feeling lonely
Becoming irritated or angry very easily

If you think you might be depressed, or somebody you know might be, it is important that you speak to somebody you trust. Depression can be treated and there are lots of different people who will be able to help and support you towards feeling better.

Help

Taking the first step to talk to somebody about how you’re feeling might seem really scary but people who care about you will want to help. There are lots of different people who will be able to help, choose someone you trust and feel comfortable talking to.

This might be a parent, another family member such as a brother or sister, it could be your friend, a teacher or youth worker.

Treatment

The first step towards feeling better is talking to somebody, keeping things to yourself can make you feel worse.

Some other things that might help are:

Trying to get a bit of fresh air when you can
Exercise can really help improve your mood and make you feel better. Try and go for a walk, swim, cycle or dance around if you can
Eat as healthily as you can and try to make sure that you don’t miss meals
Make sure you do things that you enjoy and try to do them as often as you can, this could be seeing friends, reading a book or listening to music
You could keep a diary of how you’re feeling to spot things that help you feel better and do more of these

You can also talk to someone in one of the Liverpool Community Plus Hubs.

Going to see your GP will also help, and they will be able to suggest some further ways to help you, this might include:

Talking therapies, such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). CBT is one of the most effective therapies for depression; it will help you understand your thoughts, feelings and behaviours. Why you’re feeling and acting in a certain way and what you can do to feel better
Sometimes, as well as receiving therapy, your doctor might suggest taking a medication such as an antidepressant to help you feel better

If you are a child or young person concerned about your own mental health or that of a friend and need somebody to talk to, people at Childline will be available at any time on 0800 11 11.