Mental Health & Wellbeing Information for Children + Young People in South Lanarkshire

About us

WellbeingSouthLan is aimed at young people in South Lanarkshire aged 10-26, and those who support them. The website has been created due to feedback from young people in South Lanarkshire that suggested they wanted to go somewhere to find credible information online and that had local services. Young people have been involved in every stage of the design of this process. They have chosen the name, logo and branding and topics involved. We are very grateful to the young people from a variety of South Lanarkshire secondary schools, Universal Connections, Scottish Youth Parliament and from the GoTo project for supporting this and spending so much time on this project.

This work has been supported by staff from South Lanarkshire Council, NHS Lanarkshire and VASLan.

The information on this website will be reviewed every 6 months to check for accuracy.

Get the help you need

Resources Hub

Browse our resources to quickly find the information you need, specifically for you.

We’ve broken everything down into category to make it easier to find what you need.

head to our resources hub

What do you want to know more about?

Low Mood

We can all feel down sometimes, but sometimes those feelings of sadness can continue for months or longer. Low mood or depression can have a huge impact on you on your life, but there are lots of ways to get support, cope and start to feel better.

Anxiety

We all experience anxieties at different points in our lives. Anxiety can become an issue when it stops you from doing things you enjoy like going outside, seeing friends or being in any social situation.

Being Bullied

Bullying can happen anywhere. At school, in the community or online. Bullying can be physical or emotional. It can make you feel alone, but you are not and there is help out there. (Respect Me, 2023).

Eating Problems

Eating problems impact people of all ages, genders, ethnicities and backgrounds. Someone with eating problems uses unhelpful eating behaviour(s) as a way of managing hard situations or emotions.

Friendships

Developing friendships is a big part of growing up, some friendships can last a lifetime and others can be short, and sweet but all of them can shape who we become as adults. (Mind, 2023).

LGBTQ+

LGBTQIA+ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (or sometimes questioning), intersex, asexual, and others. The “plus” represents other sexual identities, including pansexual. The acronym is used to represent a diverse range of sexualities and gender identities, referring to anyone who is transgender and/or same/similar gender attracted. This is often shortened to LGBT+.

Ways to Wellbeing

There are a lot of things we can do to support positive mental health and wellbeing. We can take part in hobbies like swimming, football, walking, going to the gym, knitting, collecting or even just watching your favourite TV programme or take part in mindfulness exercises and use breathing techniques to keep us calm and regulated.

Neurodiversity

Conditions including autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, and Tourette’s syndrome are all included under the general term “neurodiversity.” Understanding neurodiversity is essential if we are to appreciate and acknowledge the fact that no two people are alike: each person is unique and has different talents and challenges they face.

Sleep

Our mental health and wellbeing have a strong connection to sleep. Feeling overwhelmed and having difficulties with your wellbeing can sometimes impact on sleep, and lack of sleep can also impact on your wellbeing. It is really important to have good sleep habits so you can get to sleep at night and wake up feeling refreshed and rested.

Self-Harm

“Self-harm includes a broad range of behaviour that causes injury to yourself. This includes things like cutting, burning or scratching the skin and non-fatal overdosing. Self-harm is often a coping mechanism. This means that people use it to cope when they are finding things difficult or they are distressed. SAMH identifies that self-harm in itself is about how someone responds to a situation, and is not in itself an illness” (SAMH, 2017).

Trigger warning: when you click more information, there will be content about self-harm.

Stress

Stress is a very common feeling and happens when we feel overwhelmed with what is going on in daily life. Stress can happen for all sorts of reasons, such as a change like moving house, changing schools, sitting exams, our drivers test, money worries or when we fall out with friends. At times a small amount of stress can help motivate us and help us to achieve our goals. When this begins to impact on our ability to take part in daily activities, then it may be helpful to consider some coping strategies or seeking some help.

Studying

Studying for an exam or test can feel really overwhelming and stressful. Sometimes the feelings of stress or anxiety can impact the way we study in a negative way. Being well prepared will help you overcome this.

Stigma & Discrimination

Mental health stigma and discrimination is the unfair prejudice and beliefs held about poor mental health and mental ill health. Mental Health stigma and discrimination can be extremely subtle and missed by many, but for people who are struggling with their mental health it can make asking for help extremely difficult and can make them feel a lot worse about their situation.

Suicide Prevention

It is very normal to feel sad or down sometimes, however, sometimes these feelings can become overwhelming or intense. Sometimes when this happens, some people consider suicide. If you are experiencing these suicidal thoughts, it is very important that you tell someone you can trust to support you to get help at an early stage.

Trigger warning – by clicking 'Read More' this will link to information about suicide.

Racism

Racial discrimination is where someone treats you differently because of colour, ethnicity, nationality or race. This is against the law under the Equality Act (2010).

Coping with Feelings & Emotions

Understanding our feelings and emotions can sometimes be very tricky, we may not know why we are feeling a certain way. All feeling and emotions are a valid part of being a human being, it is how we deal with them that’s important, (Mind,2023).

Drugs & Alcohol

All drugs can impact your mental health. Using drugs can impact on your mental health and wellbeing and lead to long-term mental health problems.

Take the Next Step
Towards a Better You

Get help urgently

Mental Health & Wellbeing Information for Children + Young People in South Lanarkshire

About us

Get the help you need

Resources Hub

What do you want to know more about?

Take the Next Step
Towards a Better You

Get Help

Useful Links

Follow Us

Mental Health & Wellbeing Information for Children + Young People in South Lanarkshire

About us

Get the help you need

Resources Hub

What do you want to know more about?

Take the Next Step Towards a Better You

Take the Next Step
Towards a Better You