Needing Help?
Five things you can do if you’re feeling low or distressed.If you’re feeling low or distressed and need urgent advice and assistance – or someone to talk to – here are 5 things you can do.
Call Breathing Space on 0800 83 85 or visit their website at www.breathingspacescotland.co.uk. Breathing Space is a free, confidential phone and web-based service for people experiencing low mood, depression or anxiety. It provides a safe and supportive space and Breathing Space staff will offer helpful advice and information.
Call the Samaritans on 08457 909090 or visit their website at www.samaritans.org. Visit www.samaritans.org/your-community/samaritans-work-scotland/samaritans-branches-scotland to get normal geographic phone numbers for local Scottish Samaritans branches. The Samaritans provide emotional support to anyone experiencing distress or at risk ofsuicide and they operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
You can also call NHS24 on 111 to access the Community Mental Health Team and Crisis Service. NHS24 can put you in touch with Crisis Intervention Teams who work with local teams to ensure that people experiencing difficulties or who are at risk of suicide can access Mental Health Practitioners 24 hours a day, 365 days per year.If you’re feeling really low and feel there’s a risk you might harm yourself or someone else, please try to speak to someone who can offer support and understanding – this could be a friend, a family member, a mental health professional or a work colleague. On its own, talking can’t solve problems but it’s certainly better than bottling things up and feeling overwhelmed. Remember the old saying – a trouble shared is a trouble halved. Talking to someone you respect and trust can be a really good first step towards addressing your problems.
Finally, when you feel able, please update your Doctor on how you’re feeling and the difficulties you’ve faced. Your GP should be your first port of call for all mental and physical health issues and if they can’t help you straight away, they should be able to put you in touch with someone who can. If you don’t feel able to discuss your issues with your GP, please think about changing your GP or moving to a GP in a different practice – everyone has a right to good mental health and compassionate understanding from any health professionals they meet.
For more general advice and assistance, please visit our Useful Contacts section which has lots of useful addresses, numbers and links on a range of topics.