I think, in all honesty, the first place that someone in emotional distress should turn is their loved ones, and then to use professionals.

Maintain your relationships - for all kinds of reasons, friends are vital. Good friends, supportive friends, friends who won't judge you or try to take advantage of you.

When you notice an unhelpful emotion or a shift in mood, or when you notice that you're doing something you know can cause problems (being snappy, for example, or drinking too much), that could act as a cue to examine your own thoughts - "what am I thinking?".

I believe that mental health services should be based on the premise that the origins of distress are largely social.

Keep your brain active. Engage your brain. Your brain is the most fantastic machine ever created, and it needs to be exercised.

Rumination tends to be eased if we learn to be mindful; if we are able to be aware of, and understand how our own thoughts work.

People deserve to have their experiences understood in a genuine bio-psycho-social approach. All too often, this is ignored in favor of what is a very reductionist, bio-medical, model.