Last November, the Samaritans rolled out an advertising campaign entitled "Who is Jo?" promoting their email service to young people. Now, if you're in trouble and can't face calling the Samaritans, you can email jo@samaritans.org for help. The name Jo was chosen for its simplicity, the idea being that few would misspell it. The concept is that email is a less daunting, more anonymous medium for airing problems than the phone.

There's no question that the web, chat groups, newsgroups and email provide an invaluable support forum, a place to source information and above all, a lifeline when there is no one to turn to in the "real" world. When I was growing up, there was no online community of people going through the same thing to hook up with. Today, you can go online and find help in a matter of minutes.

A good place to start is Mind. Here you can access the latest mental health news stories, dig into a wealth of information on everything from cognitive behaviour therapy to antidepressants, herbal remedies and bullying at work. You can learn about mental health rights and read articles showing how things like yoga and massage can ease the pain of mental illness.

For more detailed information, visit the Royal College of Psychiatrists where a vast array of articles can be accessed online. For depression, a good source of information is Depression Alliance, the website for "the leading UK charity for people affected by depression". The site has a list of symptoms, treatments, how to get the best help from your GP, a survival guide for family and friends and methods of self-help for those going through a depressive episode. They stress, though, that if someone is feeling suicidal they should contact the Samaritans on 08457-909090 or call Saneline on 08457-678000.

The Samaritans website has excellent information about self-harm, statistics on suicide and an outline of their work in prisons. Similarly vital is Sane, which campaigns for an end to the stigma surrounding mental illness while helping people via Saneline.

For information about borderline personality disorder, try bpdcentral.com for schizophrenia schizophrenia.com, for obsessive compulsive disorder ocfoundation.org and for dissociative identity disorders check out issd.org.

For help with substance abuse, visit Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous. For advice regarding drugs and alcohol go to addaction.org.uk or call Drinkline on 0800-917 8282.

For help with panic attacks and anxiety, anxietypanic.com is packed with tips on panic attacks, types of anxiety, medications your doctor might prescribe and a useful list of conditions that may be causing the attacks. Equally useful is panicattacks.com.au, an Australian site focused on coping strategies, and the Anxiety Disorders Association of America.

There are many self-harm websites. Start with the National Self-Harm Network, which offers information and a regional guide with links such as the Self-Harm Alliance. Of sites run by self-harmers, the best are Secret Shame, a huge online resource, and the self-harm webring Bodies Under Siege.

For self-help, you can find a counsellor or psychotherapist through the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, a hypnotherapist through the National Council for Hypnotherapy, read up on how diet can affect your mood at radiantrecovery.com (run by Dr Kathleen DesMaisons, author of Potatoes Not Prozac), learn if St John's wort is for you at hypericum.com and make sure you know what you're taking at antidepressantsfacts.com.

In looking for information and comfort on the web, be warned that some sites run by non-professionals present misleading information, and there are an alarming number of repulsive pro-suicide sites that I would like to see banned.

Ultimately, while the web can be a supportive tool in dealing with mental illness, your first port of call should always be your GP.