“How are you feeling?” It’s a question so many of us avoid giving the real answer to. “Fine, thanks”, we tend to answer.

The problem is, when you live in a culture or environment where being open about your emotions is rare, it can be more difficult to work out how you actually feel. You might think, “I tell other people I’m fine, so I guess I’m fine”. It’s easier. It’s quicker. It doesn’t involve exploring uncomfortable feelings, or having difficult conversations.

We’re not advising you give an honest and detailed answer the next time the supermarket cashier asks you how your day is. However, it’s possible to achieve a healthy middle ground where you can allow yourself to feel your feelings, recognise them as they arise, and have strategies you can use to look after yourself.

 

Understand how you’re feeling

Many of us rarely take a moment and check in on how we’re feeling. Afterall, we’ve all got places to go and people to see! But here at Foothold we’re encouraging you to pause for 3-5 minutes and reflect on how you feel.

Our free-to-use Mental Health Check-In tool is like a quick online questionnaire. You’re asked a series of clinically validated questions to better understand your current experience of worry, anxiety and low mood. These are the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 questions that doctors in the UK use to screen for depression and anxiety, and to understand its severity at the time.

For each question, you’re presented with the same four possible responses. For example, one of the questions is: “over the last two weeks, how often have you had trouble relaxing?”

You’ll then select one of the following:

• Not at all
• Several days
• More than half the days
• Nearly every day

At the end of the questions you’ll be given a score, determining your levels of worry, anxiety and/or low mood to be either minimal, low, moderate or high. Along with your score, you’ll also receive a personalised report with advice, including links to the support options available to you.

 

Reflect in confidence

Since its launch, Mental Health Check-In has been used over 1,300 times by our community members, safe in the knowledge that the tool is completely confidential.

At the start of the online questionnaire you’ll be asked if you are concerned about anything in particular, and you can select as many or as few of the options as possible. These include things like relationship difficulties, a bereavement, and stress at work. You also don’t have to answer at all and can proceed with the check-in.

At the end of the questions, you’ll also be asked to select your gender and age group. You’re able to select ‘prefer not to say’ for gender, if this is something you’d rather not share.

Rest assured, your responses to these few multiple-choice questions is all we know about you – you’ll never be asked for any identifying information.

 

Advocate for yourself

Your results report can help you better understand how you’re feeling right now, but it can also be used to seek support. You’ll find helpful links to resources, and you could also download your report and bring it to your doctor as a starting point for discussion about your mental wellbeing.

Your report can also be a way to start a conversation with a family member or friend – for some people, showing a trusted person a test result can make those tricky conversations a little easier to begin.

 

Make a habit of it

The great thing about receiving a downloadable report is that you can use Mental Health Check-In to see how you’re feeling over a longer period. The tool is free to use unlimited times, and available 24/7, so you can check back in at a time that suits you to see how things are changing for you.

You could also make it part of your self-care routine and check-in once a month or once every few months to better understand how you’re feeling.

 

Check in today

Mental Health Check-In is here for you. Try it today here.

Please note that Mental Health Check-In is not an emergency service. If you are in mental health crisis, please dial 999 (or your local equivalent) to ask for urgent help.