When you don’t feel well

This text is about when you don’t feel well emotionally. You can feel bad emotionally because of something that has happened, for instance, violence or sexual assault. You may feel bad because you are worried about something, for example, your family or what will happen in the future.

You can also feel bad and not know why. Sometimes there is a reason, but you do not know what it is. Some people are also more prone to feeling anxious or depressed than others. 

You may notice it in your body, your mood, or how you sleep

For example, you might have a headache or a stomach ache. You might find it hard to relax and sleep well. You might be hungrier or less hungry than usual. Maybe you easily feel sad and cry. It is also common to feel angry and to find it hard to concentrate.

You may feel this way even if something you experienced as tough or dangerous happened to you a long time ago. In that case, it can feel strange to feel bad. But this is not strange or uncommon.

Nobody is happy all the time. Feeling sad or being worried is sometimes part of life.

Tell someone

Try talking to a friend or an adult you trust about how you are feeling. It usually feels better after this. It is important to tell someone if you are having really tough feelings, like thoughts about not wanting to live anymore.

Sometimes it is easier to talk to someone you do not know and without being seen. Here is a list of places you can contact by phone, chat, and email if you are feeling bad (in Swedish at UMO.se).

Tips for feeling better 

Here are some things you can do to feel stronger, happier and calmer:

• Get out and move, for instance, by exercising or taking a walk.
• Eat food that is good for you. It is a good idea to eat different kinds of food and to eat a lot of fruit and vegetables. Try to eat breakfast, lunch, dinner and a snack every day.
• Try to get enough sleep. It is best to sleep at night.
• Do things you like doing, and hang out with people you like.  

These tips make it easier to manage things that you want to do.

Drinking alcohol or using drugs is not good when you feel bad. This can make you feel worse.

Sometimes it’s easy to do something yourself to feel better. Sometimes it’s more difficult, for example, if something really tough has happened.

Get help if you feel really bad  

Get help if you have felt bad for a long time or if you feel very bad. For instance, contact a Youth Guidance Centre (ungdomsmottagning), a health clinic (vårdcentral) or children and adolescent psychiatry (bup). You can get help from your school nurse or school counsellor if you go to school.

Call 112 or contact a psychiatric emergency room if you or someone else feels very bad, and you want to get help as quickly as possible. Call 1177 to find out where to go.

Ask someone you know to help you if you need help.