Good to Talk · Helping a mate · Free. Always.
Be their partner, not their clinician
If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 999 or go to A&E. If you need urgent mental-health help but it is not an emergency, in England call NHS 111 and select the mental-health option or use NHS 111 online where appropriate.
Love can be enormous support. It does not give you the training or capacity to carry somebody's entire mental health alone.
Listen and ask
What is hardest? What helps? What do they want from you today? Their needs may change.
Protect ordinary relationship space
Where possible, not every conversation should become about symptoms. You are still partners, not patient and case manager.
Get help when needed
Encourage appropriate professional care. If safety becomes a concern, urgent support overrides the wish to keep everything inside the relationship.
Useful next pages
Trusted help & further reading
- NHS — where to get urgent help for mental health
- NHS Every Mind Matters — helping others
- Samaritans — if you're worried about someone else
This section is practical guidance, not emergency or clinical care. If somebody's safety is at immediate risk, use emergency services.