If you feel you need help or support, or have concerns about a loved one, below is a list of organisations and charities you may find helpful.
If you feel you are at immediat risk, phone the emergency services, your Community Psychiatric Nurse, your Social Worker or even someone close to you. You are never alone, no matter how lonely you feel.
Depression Alliance
The charity provides support for those affected by depression and their carers. Its website includes information on its local support groups, campaigns and a glossary of illnesses and treatments.
Manic Depression Fellowship
The charity provides support to people with manic depression and their carers through a network of support groups. Its website includes information on support and its publications.
Eating Disorders Association
The association's website provides information on eating disorders, specialist treatment and training for health and social care professionals.
The Mental After Care Association (MACA)
The charity provides advocacy, assertive outreach, community support and employment schemes and also offers forensic services, respite care and supported accommodation, as well as campaigning for fairer legislation and practice.
The Mental Health Foundation
The organisation is the UK's leading charity concerned with both mental health and learning disabilities. The MHF's website includes information on its work, research, publications, conferences and advice on service users' rights.
Mental Health Media
The charity provides media skills training to mental health workers, health promotion professionals and service users. It also promotes positive media coverage of mental health issues and has an annual award ceremony recognising the best broadcast journalism. Its website includes details of current productions and training courses.
Mind
Mind is one of the UK's leading mental health charities and provides a national information and legal service. Its website includes policy briefings, details of its campaigns and contact information for more than 200 local Mind groups which offer community support for service users.
Rethink serious mental illness
Rethink is the new name for the National Schizophrenia Fellowship, and is the largest voluntary sector provider of mental health services in the UK. The charity provides support to, and campaigns on behalf of, people with a severe mental illness, their families and carers. Its website contains consultation papers and policy briefings as well as details on its carer and user support groups.
Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health
The charity aims to influence national mental health policy and practice through a coordinated programme of research, service development and training. Its main areas of concern are assertive outreach, acute hospital care, crisis resolution and primary care. Its website includes publications, analysis and discussion forums.
Sane
Leading mental health charity Sane (formerly Schizophrenia, A National Emergency) campaigns for improved rights for mental health service users and their carers. Its website includes discussion forums, information on the Sane research centre and Saneline, the national mental health helpline.
Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH)
SAMH is the leading mental health charity in Scotland. It campaigns for better hospital and community services, greater understanding of mental distress and runs supported accommodation and employment training.
Stand (Stress, anxiety and depression)
This portal contains three separate sites on stress, anxiety and depression, which each contain a wide range of information, from self-help guides, explanation of symptoms, treatment options to indepth reports and news.
YoungMinds
The charity campaigns to improve child mental health. It provides a parents' information service and a range of support services for children and professionals. Its website lists upcoming conferences, training and publications.
