Quick help
The most useful things to try today.
You do not need to be in crisis to qualify
The instinct to wait until things get worse is understandable and counterproductive. Waiting lists mean the time to join the queue is now, not at your lowest point.
In England, refer yourself — no GP needed
NHS Talking Therapies takes self-referrals online for anxiety and depression. You need to be registered with a GP and aged 18 or over (16+ in some areas).
Elsewhere in the UK, start with your GP
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have different arrangements. Your GP is the route in, and it is worth saying explicitly that this is the primary reason for the appointment.
Book the physical review at the same time
Mention the job loss. Ask for the checks that make sense for your age — thyroid, B12, vitamin D, and hormonal markers where relevant. Symptoms that look like depression sometimes are not.
What actually happens when you ask for help
The uncertainty about the process puts people off more than the process itself.
If you self-refer in England
You fill in an online form for your local NHS Talking Therapies service — about fifteen minutes. Someone phones you back for a triage conversation, usually within a couple of weeks. That call decides which type of support fits and puts you on the relevant list. Waits vary a great deal by area.
If you go through a GP
Book a double appointment if you can, and say at the start that this is the reason for the visit rather than raising it at the end. Bring a note of how long it has been going on and what has changed — sleep, appetite, concentration, mood. It saves the whole appointment being spent on establishing that.
What they will probably ask
Standard questionnaires about mood and anxiety over the last two weeks, and a direct question about thoughts of self-harm — usually item nine of the PHQ-9, which everyone is asked. For most people an honest answer is simply noted and the conversation moves on. If you describe active plans or recent self-harm they will take that seriously and talk to you about safety, which usually means a faster route to support rather than a slower one. An honest answer is what lets them judge what support you need, and being open about how bad things are is far more likely to get you help sooner than to count against you.
What you can ask for
A specific type of therapy, a female or male practitioner, evening or phone appointments, or simply to be told what the realistic wait is. You are allowed to ask, and you are allowed to say a particular option is not right for you.
If the wait is long
Ask what is available in the meantime — guided self-help, group programmes, and digital CBT such as Sleepio or Daylight. Charity-run and lower-cost counselling through BACP's directory is worth looking at in parallel rather than instead.
Understand what is happening
The deeper explanation, and what the evidence does and does not support.
Evidence suggests
CBT is well evidenced, and it is one of several options
NICE recommends a menu for depression rather than a ranking — guided self-help, group exercise, group or individual CBT, behavioural activation, counselling, short-term psychodynamic therapy and medication — chosen with you rather than ordered by evidence strength. Three thought patterns are common during job loss: catastrophising, personalisation and overgeneralisation. All three are distortions rather than accurate readings, and structured challenge of exactly this kind is what CBT trains.
Research says
Exercise sits alongside therapy, not instead of it
The 2024 BMJ network meta-analysis found effects for walking or jogging, yoga and strength training comparable to CBT and larger than SSRIs alone — with low or very low confidence in the evidence, largely because participants cannot be blinded to exercise. The authors' conclusion is that exercise should be considered alongside therapy and medication as a core treatment, chosen with the patient rather than instead of the alternatives. Do not read the headlines as permission to skip treatment.
Source: Noetel et al., BMJ, 2024
Study: 218 randomised trials, 14,170 participants with major depression.
Study: 218 randomised trials, 14,170 participants with major depression.
Research says
Expressive writing helps some people, modestly
The standard protocol is 15–20 minutes on three or four consecutive days. Across 146 randomised studies the average effect is small and varies a lot between individuals. Worth trying; not worth feeling you have failed at.
Source: Frattaroli, Psychological Bulletin, 2006
Study: Meta-analysis of 146 randomised experimental disclosure studies; average effect r = .075, which is small.
Study: Meta-analysis of 146 randomised experimental disclosure studies; average effect r = .075, which is small.
Try this
Digital CBT is worth checking for
Sleepio (insomnia) is a NICE-recommended digital CBT programme, and Daylight (anxiety) is a digital CBT programme from the same company that does not currently carry NICE guidance. Both are free without referral to everyone in Scotland and in some parts of England. Check availability at sleepio.com/nhs and trydaylight.com/nhs.
Read more
The relevant sections of the three long-form guides. Each link opens at the right place.
Get outside help
Organisations that do this properly. Going to them is a good outcome, not a failure of this page.
Free NHS courses of CBT, counselling and guided self-help for anxiety and depression. In England you can refer yourself online without seeing a GP, which removes one step if you would rather not have that conversation first. Waits vary considerably by area.
Self-referral online
England (16+/18+ depending on area)
Mental health charity with an infoline that explains your options rather than treating you. Particularly useful when you know something is wrong but have no idea what to ask for, or what you are entitled to.
0300 123 3393 (Mon–Fri 9am–6pm)
England & Wales
Searchable directory of BACP-registered private counsellors and psychotherapists. Worth using if NHS waits in your area are long — many listed offer reduced or sliding-scale fees, so ask when you get in touch.
UK
Free 24/7 phone line for anyone struggling to cope. The one to use when you want to talk to a person rather than read something — they will listen without telling you what to do, and you do not have to be suicidal to call.
116 123
UK & Ireland
Free, confidential, round-the-clock crisis support by text message. Particularly useful if you cannot face speaking out loud, or if you need support somewhere you cannot make a phone call.
Text SHOUT to 85258
UK
NICE-recommended digital CBT programme for insomnia. Worth pursuing if sleep problems have lasted more than a few weeks and sleep hygiene has not shifted them — the evidence for CBT for insomnia is stronger than for sleeping tablets, which is why NHS and NICE guidance put it first. Free in Scotland, but only a few areas of England still have it commissioned — check before assuming.
Scotland; only a few areas of England
Charity specialising in anxiety specifically rather than mental health generally. Members get access to reduced-cost therapy, which some people find quicker to access than a local NHS wait and less expensive than arranging therapy privately.
03444 775 774
UK
Scotland's free, confidential phone line for low mood, depression and anxiety. The Scottish equivalent of the routes listed above, and open evenings and through the night at weekends.
0800 83 85 87 · Mon–Thu 6pm–2am, Fri 6pm–Mon 6am
Scotland, 16+
You might also need
About this page. This is an informational wellbeing resource, not clinical, legal or financial advice. Labels show how strong the basis for each statement is — see how we handle evidence. Services marked England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland are not available across the whole UK.