Support for you

Addressing the pressure to be perfect toolkit

Find tips to help your child support a friend or a love one that may be struggling online and places to seek more support.

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Summary

What to do in an emergency
Know the signs to watch for in others
How to reach out
How to report something

What to do in an emergency

In an emergency, contact authorities

If someone is in immediate physical danger, please contact the police or other immediate local authority services such a CEOP for help.

The Shout free text line is also available 24/7 and totally anonymous unless you need to contact emergency services to keep you or someone else safe.Text SHOUT to 85258.

Resources

Learn how to report self-harm content on social networks.

Know the signs to watch for in others

People may communicate their feelings in different ways, but there are things that can give you clues to their emotional state. Here is a list of things you could look out for:

They’re not acting like themselves
They are taking more risks than usual
They talk about feeling hopeless
They’re taking more drugs or drinking more
They are harming themselves
They don’t feel like hanging out as much
Their mind seems to be somewhere else
They are so anxious they can’t relax
They’ve gotten negative about life

Everyone has some bad days, but if you notice someone exhibiting any of the above behaviours repeatedly, the tips below can help you figure out what to do. Alternatively, there are a number of organisations to reach out to such as:

Support and counselling services

Childline – a free, private and confidential service where you can talk about anything [Phone icon] 0800 1111
The Mix – offers a range of advice and support for under 25s – 0808 808 4994
Papyrus – Charity dedicated to the prevention of young suicide – 0800 068 41 41
Samaritans – 24 hour confidential listening and support- 116 123
Mind Infoline provides an information and signposting service that is open 9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday
YoungMinds – Offer a free helpline for confidential, expert advice
Kooth.com – Free and anonymous online support for young people open Monday – Friday from 12pm – 10pm

How to reach out

Asking questions like “Have you talked to anyone else about this?” can be ways to see if they have support in the other parts of their life. Childline has some good guidelines for this or share resources like the Shout.

How to report something

We encourage young people who are worried that someone may be thinking about hurting themselves to report this to let Instagram us know so they we can help connect them to information and resources.

There are teams all over the world working 24 hours a day, seven days a week to review these reports. The poster will not know who made the report, but they will get help the next time they open the app.