Being There For Someone

Every year 1 in 4 of us in Scotland will experience a mental health problem.

So it’s important to be ready to talk about mental health. Whether you are living with a mental health problem or supporting someone who is, accessing information is vital. SAMH is here to help you.

Building a network of people who you can trust and share things with can help protect your mental health. A person you trust, such as a friend, family member, colleague or community leader, may be able to provide a listening ear.

If you are an employer you have a responsibility to make sure you provide an environment that is healthy for all. And similarly, if you work in education, you want to be in the position to offer the right support to students with mental health problems.

It can be very difficult to see someone who you care about becoming distressed and unwell, but you don’t need to be an expert on mental health to offer support. Often, small everyday actions can make the biggest difference.

People will want support at different times in different ways, so ask how you can help. It might be useful to help them prepare for a doctor’s appointment. If your friend wants to get more exercise, you could do this together, or if your partner is affected by lack of sleep, you could help them get into a regular sleeping pattern.

Keep in mind that having a mental health problem is just one part of the person. People don’t want to be identified by their mental health problem, so keep talking about the things you always talked about.