If you’re suffering with poor mental health, or know someone who is, you’re not alone. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) reports that 1 in 5 adults and 1 in 6 children in the U.S. experience a mental health disorder or mental illness each year.
It’s also important to remember that you can get better with the right treatment plan. While there is no “cure” for most mental illnesses, many people are able to make a successful recovery.
We’ve put together some resources from people who want to help, all around the web.
U.S. Government Agencies
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
Treatment finder, practitioner training, data, and publications about addiction, suicide prevention, and other mental health topics
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Information on mental illnesses (including statistics, brochures, fact sheets, and helpful resources) and research
Non-Profits
The leading community-based mental health nonprofit in America, offering education, outreach, advocacy, and help.
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
America’s largest grassroots mental health organization, NAMI, provides education, advocacy, public awareness events, and a HelpLine.
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
A nationwide community offering support for those affected by suicide—whether directly or indirectly—as well as education and advocacy.
Phone and Text Lines
- National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1-800-273-8255
- Crisis Text Line: Text Hello to 741741
- YouthLine (ages 11 to 21): Text teen2teen to 839863, or call 1-877-968-8491
- Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline: 1-800-422-4453
- National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233
- National Deaf Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-855-812-1001
- Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network Hotline: 1-800-656-4673
- SAMHSA National Helpline (alcohol and drug abuse): 1-800-662-4357
- The Trevor Project for LGBTQ+ kids and teens: 1-866-488-7386 or text START to 678678
- Trans Lifeline: 1-877-565-8860
- LGBT National Hotline — 1-888-843-4564
- LGBT National Youth Talkline — 1-800-246-7743
- LGBT Senior Hotline — 1-888-234-7243
Social Media
While social media can have negative effects on your mental health, the sense of community you can find with others struggling with their mental health can be worth the risk. Use with caution.
YouTube: Most Subscribed Mental Health Channels
Twitter: Follow the government and non-profit agencies listed above at @SAMHSAGov, @NIMHGov, @MentalHealthAm, and @NAMICommunicate.
Apps
While you may be wary of getting help through an app, digital CBT has been proven effective (sources: 1 2 3)–perhaps, as a study in World Psychiatry suggests, as effective as face-to-face CBT.
Researchers at Consumers Advocate, a small organization dedicated to helping individuals make more informed decisions, studied 19 options in their Ultimate Guide to Online Therapy; based on their studies, they were able to recommend the talk therapy services Betterhelp and TalkSpace.
Some studies have even shown that robochat services can be an effective way to teach CBT (sources: 1 2), and there are several robochat therapy apps available for iOS and Android.
Books & Other Resources
Self-help or self-therapy books have a bad reputation, which is sometimes deserved–but the right book, particularly a self-therapy book on CBT, can be very effective in treating depression, anxiety, and other mental health problems. In fact, one review of 10 articles on “Bibliotherapy” (book therapy) published in the European Journal of Public Health showed improvements on mental health problems even after a six-month follow-up. Bibliotherapy is effective enough that the National Health Service in Wales has made it part of their standard treatment for mental health care!
You can check out the NHS Wales’ Bibliotherapy Book List; or, I’ve put together a list of self-help books recommended to me from Twitter, which you can access here.