Feeling bad?
If you are worried about your mental health, remember that help is quickly available. On this page you will find information about how to support your own mental health and when and how to seek professional help.
You should seek help if, for example, you rarely feel happy, you often feel anxious, you repeatedly have negative thoughts about yourself or life in general, or you regularly use alcohol or drugs.
You can assess your situation yourself by completing MentalHub’s symptom questionnaires, for example. Browse the symptom questionnaires (in Finnish)(Link leads to external service).
However, you don’t need to actually know yourself if you need help. You can always contact your school nurse or student health care services, Mental Health Service Unit Mieppi or your own health station to tell a professional about how you are feeling and what your concerns are. They will assess your situation and help you move forward.
- Read more about school health care services
- Go to the page of Mental Health Service Unit Mieppi
- Find the health station closest to you. For instructions on how to contact the health station, see the health station’s own page.
You should also seek help if you are facing a crisis, even if you are not feeling anxious at the moment or are not sure how you feel.
Youth Helsinki: information and things to do
On the Youth Helsinki website, you will find information about how to maintain your mental health and where to get help if you need it. The website also contains a lot of other information on matters such as studying and leisure activities.
Go to website: Youth Helsinki / Health and well-being(Link leads to external service)
Self-care tools: take care of your body and mind
- Digimieli’s self-care programmes offer support for those suffering from depression and anxiety, among other issues. Browse Digimieli’s self-care programmes.(Link leads to external service)
- MentalHub’s self-care programmes provide tools for dealing with anxiety and insomnia. Browse MentalHub’s self-care programmes.(Link leads to external service)
- Hyvä kysymys online service offers lots of information about mental health issues, sexuality and relationships. See the Hyvä kysymys online service.(Link leads to external service)
When you need professional help, turn to your school or the municipal health care services.
- If you are in comprehensive school, you can contact your school's nurse, curator or psychologist. You can find the contact details on your school website. Read more about school social worker and psychologist services.
- If you are an upper secondary level student, you can make use of the student health care services of your vocational college or upper secondary school. Read more about student welfare services in vocational education. Find out about student welfare services in general upper secondary schools.
- In Mental Health Service Unit Mieppi, you can talk with a professional free of charge in person or remotely. Mieppi is meant for all Helsinki residents over the age of 13. Go to the Mieppi page.
- You can also turn to your local health station for help. Find the health station closest to you. For instructions on how to contact the health station, see the health station’s own page.
- If you have a serious substance abuse problem, you can also contact Youth Substance Abuse Service Pysäkki. You don’t need any appointment for the service. Read more about Pysäkki on its own page.
If necessary, nurses and doctors in Mieppi, your school/educational institution or the health station will refer you to appropriate services.
When you seek help, mental health professionals will assess your situation to see what support you need. You will be able to plan your services together with the professionals.
Your treatment plan may consist of a combination of the following types of treatment, for example: online therapy, brief therapy, rehabilitative psychotherapy, group work, family guidance and counselling, medication management and detoxification.
The professionals will give you detailed instructions on what will happen next. In many cases, the services will be phased out in such a manner, for example, that you will continue therapy until you are well enough to continue taking care of your mental health on your own.
The professionals will also give you instructions on how to contact them if your symptoms worsen again and you need professional help. This can happen, but it does not mean the treatment didn’t work – after the treatment, you will most likely have a better understanding of what to do to alleviate your symptoms.