Looking after your mental health online

Finding reliable mental health information online

Sometimes it might feel hard to know where to start with finding information about mental health. But there’s lots of reliable information available online, including on:

• Information websites like Mind or NHS
• News websites
• Blogs, vlogs and podcasts
• Online communities
• Social media

It might help to think about what you’re hoping to achieve, whether you want to learn more or interact with others. This might change from time to time, depending on your needs and how you're feeling.

Tips for finding trustworthy mental health information online

Remember that not all the information you find online will be reliable. Some useful questions to ask yourself are:

• Who has created it and why?
• Do they have a particular bias or agenda? The information should be balanced throughout. Take care if a website is trying to sell you something.
• When was it created? Is it up to date?
• Does it look professional? If it has lots of spelling errors or broken website links, it might not be reliable.
• Is this factual information, or is it someone's personal experience or opinion? Remember - what's true for someone else might not be true for you.
• Is it supported by other organisations you trust?

You could also consider how relevant the information is to your situation. For example, some services may not be available in your area (or even the UK).

If you're looking for reliable information about mental health diagnoses and treatments, it's a good idea to choose evidence-based sources. This means the information is based on the best scientific knowledge and research currently available. Mind's information pages are evidence-based. The NHS's information is too. 

Mind’s information has been awarded the PIF (Patient Information Forum) tick quality mark. The PIF tick is the UK's only quality mark for print and online health and care information. This means that you can be assured that what you are reading is evidence-based, accurate and accessible.

You can also contact your GP to ask for reliable information about mental health.

I believe particularly with my journey of recovery I found educating myself on mental distress very useful as I really felt like I wasn't alone which was a huge relief. Also I was able to use this information to educate my parents and friends of what I was going through, which made them all so helpful.

This information was published in July 2023. We will revise it in 2026.

References are available on request. If you would like to reproduce any of this information, see our page on permissions and licensing.