Support after your chat

When you’re starting to think about the future, it can help to ask yourself:

• How do I feel about the future?
• What would change my feelings about the future?
• What would I like to be doing in a week, a month, or a year?
• What can I control in my future, and what’s not in my control?
• What would need to change to make me feel better about the future? 

When you’re ready, it can help to think about what goals you you’d like to achieve in the future.

An action plan is a list of steps and information about how you’re going to reach a goal. You could make a plan for something small you want to change or do, or for big things in the future.

It’s your plan, so it’s important to think about what you want to do, but it can help to ask for support if you’re stuck.

Your plan could include:

• Your goals
  Focus on what you feel is achievable and in your control. Not sure what makes a healthy goal? We’ve got lots of advice to help.
• What you’ll need to do
  Break down all of the steps you’ll need to need to take. Think about what you’ll need to do each day and write it down.
• How long you’ll need
  Be realistic with how long you’ll need. If you’re trying to change your routine, it can help to think about how often you want to do things.
• Who can help
  It’s your plan, but friends or adults you trust can help you. It can help to think about whether anyone might make it harder as well.
• What meeting your goals looks like
  Write down what you’ll be doing differently if you achieve your goals.

Remember that your plan can change and grow over time, it’s always okay to change your goals if they’re feeling too hard or too easy.

Feeling hopeless or stuck can make it hard to think about the future, especially when you’ve been feeling that way for a while or you’re having the same feelings over and over.

Changing how you feel can take time, but there are things that can help:

• Set small goals
  Try to plan small things you could achieve every day. It could just be setting an alarm, tidying up going for a walk.
• Think about what’s in your control
  There are lots of things in life that will be out of your control, and it’s always okay to ask for support when they’re bothering you. When you’re feeling powerless, think about the positive things you can do which are in your control.
• Get another point of view
  Ask yourself what you’d say to a friend if they were in your position or try talking to an adult you trust to see what they think.
• Be kind to yourself
  Remember that change can take time, but that it’s okay to do things that help you to feel positive or calmer. Try to take time to think about what you’ve done to keep going or change things in the past and how you could use this in the future.

Think about what support you’d like from the people in your life. You might want:

• practical support with things in your life
• emotional support or someone to listen
• ways to cope or ideas to feel better
• advice on what you can do or what your rights are
• someone to motivate or inspire you
• medical or professional support.

The kind of support you want can change who you should speak to or where to get help from. It can help to think about what support you need and where you can get that from. If you’re struggling to ask for help, we’ve got lots of advice to help.