An emergency mental health toolkit

Protecting Your Mind in Catastrophes and Emergencies

World Mental Health Day 2025

1. Introduction

Emergencies and disasters, including conflicts, bereavement, illness and accidents, can leave people feeling powerless, overwhelmed or in shock.

Physical safety, food, water, shelter and medicine come first. Mental health support is also part of the response. Threat can show up in the body through a raised heart rate, panic, disrupted sleep or feeling detached.

This toolkit brings together psychological first aid, grounding exercises and information on finding help. Use what fits the situation and stop any exercise that makes you feel worse.

2. Understanding Crisis Stress

When disaster strikes, your brain’s alarm system (the amygdala) goes into overdrive. Stress hormones flood the body, sharpening your senses and preparing you to fight, flee, or freeze. This is a survival response. It is not a personal failing.

Common immediate reactions:

• Physical: racing heartbeat, tense muscles, sweating, nausea

• Emotional: fear, anger, sadness, irritability, or emotional numbness

• Cognitive: difficulty concentrating, forgetfulness, intrusive thoughts

• Behavioural: withdrawal, restlessness, changes in appetite or sleep

These are normal reactions to abnormal events. For most people, they gradually ease as safety and stability return.

Warning signs to seek urgent help:

• Feeling unsafe with your thoughts (e.g., self-harm or suicidal thinking)

• Intense panic attacks that do not pass

• Flashbacks or nightmares that feel like reliving the event

• Feeling detached from reality or “spaced out” for long periods

• Not being able to carry out daily tasks or responsibilities

Action: If you or someone you know feels unsafe, dial 999 (UK) or the local emergency number immediately.

3. Psychological First Aid (PFA)

Psychological First Aid (PFA) is a practical approach recommended by the World Health Organisation for supporting people after serious crisis events.

The 5 Core Principles:

• Ensure safety: protect yourself and others from ongoing danger. Find shelter and check basic needs such as water, food and warmth.

• Create calm: use breathing, grounding or sensory techniques to pause and notice your surroundings.

• Stay connected: reach out to family, colleagues or local groups.

• Offer hope carefully: encourage one achievable next step without promising recovery.

• Provide practical help: focus on immediate needs such as charging a phone, finding shelter or getting a meal.

Try it now: box breathing. Inhale for 4, hold for 4, exhale for 4 and hold for 4. Repeat if it feels comfortable.

4. Building Your Personal “Emergency Kit”

In a crisis, clear thinking can be difficult. Having a mental health emergency kit, alongside your physical emergency supplies, can make a big difference.

What to include in your psychological first aid kit:

• A small coping card: simple exercises like grounding or breathing.

• Emergency contacts and helplines saved in your phone.

• Audio tools: a calming playlist, podcast, or meditation app.

• A journal or notes app: writing can help process overwhelming feelings.

• A grounding object: something tactile (stone, photo, bracelet) that can remind you of safety.

• Comfort items: herbal tea bags, essential oil roller, or stress ball if practical.

Tip: Pack these in a small pouch or save them in your phone’s “favourites” so they are easy to access when thinking clearly feels impossible.

5. Quick Coping Tools for Crisis Moments

When panic or fear takes over, short techniques can bring you back to the present. These work by activating the body’s calming parasympathetic system.

• 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding: Look around you. Name 5 things you see, 4 you feel, 3 you hear, 2 you smell, 1 you taste. This helps anchor you in the present.

• Progressive muscle relaxation: starting at your feet, tense and release each muscle group for 5 seconds. Stop if it causes pain.

• Circle of Control: On paper, draw two circles. In the inner one, write things you can control (breath, hydration, reaching out). In the outer one, write what you cannot control (the disaster, other people’s actions). Direct your energy to the inner circle.

• SOS Shift:

Stop → Pause for a moment. - Observe → Notice what you feel in body and mind. - Shift → Choose one small positive action (drink water, stretch, send a text).

Practise these regularly so the steps are familiar before a crisis.

6. Supporting Others in Crisis

Emergencies can be isolating, but showing up for someone else can help. You do not need to be a professional to listen or offer practical support.

Helpful approaches:

• Listen calmly and without judgment. Silence can be healing.

• Ask open, simple questions: “How can I support you right now?”

• Offer reassurance: “It is normal to feel shaken. You are not alone.”

• Share clear, factual information about where support can be found.

Unhelpful approaches:

• Minimising: “Others have it worse” or “You will get over it.”

• Pressuring someone to talk when they are not ready.

• Overloading with advice or personal opinions.

Remember: You are not responsible for “fixing” someone. Your role is to listen, validate, and signpost to professional help where possible.

7. Accessing Services in Emergencies

In disasters, traditional health systems may be stretched. Knowing alternative pathways helps ensure no one is left unsupported.

UK Services:

• 999: immediate danger or life-threatening situations.

• NHS 111: urgent, non-life-threatening advice.

• Samaritans: 116 123, free and available 24 hours a day.

• Shout: text SHOUT to 85258 for free text support.

• Mind Infoline: 0300 123 3393.

Digital Support:

• InsideOut®: if your employer or NHS service provides access, the app includes messages with Remi®, guided courses and routes to talking therapy. It is not an emergency service.

• Calm Harm: tools for managing urges of self-harm.

Global Resources:

• WHO: Mental health and psychosocial support in emergencies.

• Red Cross / Red Crescent: Crisis support worldwide.

• International helplines: Befrienders.org for global suicide prevention numbers.

Tip: Save the numbers that are most relevant to you now. In a crisis, it may be difficult to search for them.

8. Building Resilience Before Disaster Strikes

Resilience does not mean being unshakable. Preparation can give you familiar actions and contacts to use when challenges come.

• Routine: Keep sleep regular. Prioritise balanced meals and hydration. Predictability helps calm the nervous system.

• Movement: Regular physical activity releases endorphins, lowers cortisol, and builds resilience to stress.

• Connection: decide who you could contact and how you would reach them if normal services were disrupted.

• Preparedness: Save emergency contacts. Share a crisis plan with family. Keep a personal grounding toolkit at hand.

Even small changes now, like practising daily breathing or checking in with a friend, can make a big difference when life is disrupted.

9. Closing Note

Emergencies are unpredictable and often frightening. But support exists, and there are steps you can take, right now, to steady yourself and others.

Remember:

• Stress reactions are normal in abnormal events.

• Quick tools like grounding, breathing, and connection can stabilise you.

• Professional help is worth seeking. When systems are stretched, trusted people and self-help tools can support you while you wait.

• Access to mental health is a human right. You deserve it as much as anyone else.

Keep this toolkit handy. Share it widely. Together, we can make mental health support more accessible, even in the most difficult times.

By Laura Stembridge, Founder InsideOut®