When you need it. And if you’re asking yourself this question, the answer may be ‘now’—after all, finding supports before you really need them is a great way to ensure your ongoing wellbeing. This website can help you locate services that can help keep you mentally and physically healthy through times of stress and respond to difficulties in your life with resilience.

If that doesn’t sound like a clear answer to the question, try this: if you think the way you’re feeling or the things you’re doing are changing your life in ways you don’t like—impacting your relationships, disrupting your work or school life, or lessening your enjoyment of life—it may be time to seek support.

There are also tools like the Mental Health Check In that can help you reflect on your mental, physical and social well-being. Families may also want to learn more about how to support their youth, or how youth can support themselves.

There are many ways to find to support in BC. For some people, a direct conversation might be the easiest way to get started—you can visit a clinic near you or contact a healthcare provider virtually, or speak to a family doctor if you have one.

Or you might prefer to call a service navigator to advise you on supports. The operators at 8-1-1 can help find the right services or suggest who you should talk to next.

If you’d rather do some research on your own, you can use our guided search  to find supports near you.

Describing how we’re feeling can be difficult at the best of times, and if you’re already not feeling your best, it can feel even harder. If you’re speaking to a healthcare professional or a peer support professional, you can work through the details with them directly—only you know how you feel, even if it’s hard to talk about.

If you’re using our Search function or doing some research online, here are some commonly searched terms you may want to look into.

• Anxiety
  • Everyone feels worried or nervous from time to time, but if you’re having consistent, upsetting worries that interfere with your day-to-day life, you may want to speak to someone about anxiety. Learn more here.
• Depression
  • If you feel consistently unhappy, tired, hopeless or withdrawn, especially when there isn’t an obvious cause, you may be experiencing depression. Medical professionals can help. Learn more here.
• Stress
  • We all experience and respond to stress in different ways. If your stress feels unmanageable, there are supports and services to help. Learn more here.
• Substance use concerns
  • People have used substances, including alcohol, cannabis, stimulants like caffeine, opiates and other drugs, for many thousands of years. If you find that your substance use is impacting your life negatively, it may be time to seek support. Learn more here.

There are many other specific situations and conditions you may be looking for help with. Talking with a professional, like a doctor at a clinic or an 8-1-1 operator, may help.

The kinds of services that are available depend on the kind of thing you’re seeking support with. For concerns about mental health or substance use, you might want to connect with a health professional, peer support worker, support groups or individual or group counselling.  Telephone helplines can also support you for more immediate concerns, or provide advice about what to do next.