When to seek help · Ireland & UK
Coaching has limits. Here's how to get to the right level of care.
Steady supports skills, planning and routines. The guidance below helps you decide when to stay with coaching, when to book a GP, and when to reach urgent or emergency support — in Ireland and the UK.
If you're in immediate danger
Acting on thoughts of suicide or self-harm, in danger from someone else, or unable to keep yourself safe right now.
Ireland
- Emergency services — 112 or 999.
- Samaritans (24/7) — 116 123.
- Pieta House (suicide / self-harm, 24/7) — 1800 247 247.
- Text HELLO to 50808 (24/7 crisis text).
United Kingdom
- Emergency services — 999 (or 112).
- Samaritans (24/7) — 116 123.
- NHS 111, option 2 — mental health crisis line (England).
- Text SHOUT to 85258 (24/7 crisis text).
- CALM (men, 5pm–midnight) — 0800 58 58 58.
Red flags — stop and seek care now
If any of the following are present, please step out of self-help and contact one of the numbers above, or attend your nearest Emergency Department:
- Thoughts of suicide, a suicide plan, or active self-harm.
- Hearing or seeing things others can't, or fixed beliefs others find alarming.
- Mania-like state: little or no need for sleep for several days, racing thoughts, impulsive spending, sustained elevated or irritable mood.
- Acute panic that won't settle, chest pain, or feeling you can't breathe.
- You are unsafe at home or being harmed by someone else.
- Sudden change in mental state after a head injury, new medication, or stopping a medication abruptly.
Step-by-step: which level of care?
Use this ladder to match the situation to the right service.
Step 1 — Self-help & coaching (Steady)
Day-to-day focus, planning, sleep, follow-through, energy and emotional regulation. A good first layer when you're functioning but life feels harder than it should.
Step 2 — Your GP
Book a routine appointment if any of these have lasted around two weeks or more:
- Persistent low mood, hopelessness or loss of interest.
- Sleep under ~4 hours for several nights, or sleeping most of the day.
- Anxiety, panic or rumination blocking work, college or relationships.
- Substance use that feels out of your control.
- Significant impact on finances, work or relationships that coaching alone isn't shifting.
- You want to start an ADHD assessment pathway.
In Ireland, the GP is the gateway to the HSE Adult ADHD National Clinical Programme. In the UK, the GP is the gateway to NHS adult ADHD services and Right to Choose providers.
Step 3 — Same-week urgent (not 999 / 112)
If things are escalating but you're safe right now:
- Ireland: HSE YourMentalHealth information line — 1800 111 888. Ask your GP about your local Community Mental Health Team.
- England: NHS 111, option 2 — local mental health crisis line.
- Scotland: NHS 24 — 111.
- Wales: 111, press 2 for the CALL Mental Health Listening Line.
- Northern Ireland: Lifeline — 0808 808 8000.
Already on medication?
Steady can help with the lifestyle, sleep and behavioural side of things alongside your prescriber. Any question about medication — dose, side effects, switching, stopping — belongs with your prescribing clinician, never with us. If you're experiencing severe side effects or thoughts of self-harm after a medication change, contact your prescriber today or use Step 3 above.
Prep for the GP visit
Take ten minutes to write down: how long the difficulty has lasted, what it's stopping you doing, sleep and substance patterns, family history, and any safety concerns. A short written note is easier than trying to remember in the room. Our resources page has a GP-prep checklist you can bring with you.
Steady is not a medical service and does not diagnose, treat or prescribe. The information above is general signposting, not personal medical advice. If in doubt, contact your GP or one of the lines above.