Anxiety is a normal, human feeling of fear or panic. When we face stressful situations, it can set off our brain’s in-built alarm bell system, which tells us something isn’t right and that we need to deal with it. Our brain wants the difficult situation to go away, so it makes us feel more alert, stops us thinking about other things, and even pumps more blood to our legs to help us run away. 

Most of us worry sometimes – about things like friendships or money – and feel anxious when we’re under stress, like at exam time. But afterwards we usually calm down and feel better.

But when you’re not in a stressful situation, and you still feel worried or panicky, that’s when anxiety can become a problem. Our brains are designed to keep us alive, anxiety helped our ancestors when faced with predators - but there are no tigers at Neston High School!

If your anxiety is becoming too much, there are ways to help manage it including helpful apps and 'grounding techniques'. Click here for more ideas.

Self-harm is when you hurt yourself on purpose to relieve feelings of distress. People sometimes self-harm when life feels hard to cope with.

If you self-harm, you might be dealing with lots of intense thoughts and feelings and hurting yourself feels like the only way to let those feelings out. Or you might feel numb and want to hurt yourself so that you can feel something.

Self-harm is a way to show the feelings you have inside on the outside. It might cause you to experience:

• pain or discomfort
• temporary physical marks
• scarring
• feelings of sickness or dizziness
• feelings of weakness, shame or disgust
• feeling scared, out of control or confused by why you are doing this
• feelings of isolation and loneliness

You should also speak to carers and arrange a GP appointment. Here is a guide on how to speak to your GP about your mental health, and what to expect at your appointment.

It is really important to keep yourself safe and reduce your risk of serious self-injury. Sometimes it can take time to find ways to cope, you could try to:

• go for a walk or do some gentle exercise
• focus on your breathing
• text a friend and let them know you need them to help you take your mind off things
• play music and sing or dance along
• hold an ice cube
• write down your thoughts
• hit a cushion or pillow
• tear up a magazine or newspaper
• make a self-soothe box

There are ways to support you, talking to someone about how you're feeling can be a big relief.  Don't worry if you feel no one will understand you, your PLM in school will understand, won't judge and there's nothing you can say that will shock them - they are here to listen and support you.

It is our human instinct to want to connect with others. Sometimes, it can feel like no one understands what we are going through or what we are feeling. Or you might feel like people just don’t get you. You might look at other people’s lives and feel like yours is very different. This can be very isolating and frustrating, and can make us feel worse and more alone.

You might be experiencing some of the following:

• Bullying - you can report bullying or discrimination to school here. You can get support online here.
• You have a different way of communicating and your peers don't understand you - here is some advice that can help.
• Loneliness - there are things you can do to stop feeling lonely, here is a list of ideas to support.

As difficult and painful as this can be, it’s important to know that there are things you can do to feel valid, seen and heard. You are important, and your feelings matter.

The first step to feeling better, is to accept yourself as you are.

Do speak to your trusted adult in school, or parents/carers at home if you feel lonely or isolated.

Food plays a significant part in our lives. Most of us will spend time thinking about what we eat. Sometimes you might:

• have cravings
• eat more than usual
• lose your appetite
• try to eat healthier.

Changing your eating habits like this every now and again is normal.

But if you feel like food and eating is taking over your life, it may become a problem. Some signs that you may have a problem include:

• focussing a lot on controlling what or how much you eat
• having urges to get rid of the food from your body
• feeling unable to stop yourself from eating
• using food to manage your emotions
• feeling guilty for enjoying food

You might develop an eating problem when things don’t feel right in other parts of your life, especially if you’re feeling worried, stressed or out of control.

Images we see in the media or on social media can make us feel we have to look a certain way, or be a certain weight, which can cause us to change the way we eat. But there's no "right" or "wrong" way to look - everyone's body is different.

The charity Beat has more information on how to get help in their guide to getting treatment for an eating disorder.