Mental Health and Suicide Prevention

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Mental health is as important as physical health for overall health and wellbeing. It underpins the ability to build strong relationships, to do well at school or at work, and shapes how people interact with the world. Good mental health often leads to better physical health as well as a longer life expectancy.

People in the Western Isles generally enjoy higher levels of good mental health and wellbeing compared with the Scottish average. However, good mental health is not experienced by everyone, and many experience periods of poor mental health during their life.

Positive Mental Health & Wellbeing website

Our Positive Mental Health & Wellbeing website is aimed at supporting those seeking guidance for mild to moderate mental health issues, who are supporting themselves or for those who are supporting someone else.  This site holds lots of information on various mental health issues, factors which can cause mental health issues, as well as help on how to strengthen someone’s mental health.  There are self-help guides, and links to online therapies or apps that may offer support.

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Suicide Prevention

Suicide is an important Public Health issue. As deaths from suicide often occur in younger people, the number of years of life lost compared to average life expectancy at the time of death were five times higher for suicide than for road traffic accidents. The Western Isles Multi Agency Suicide Advisory Group acknowledges that communities can play a critical role in suicide prevention. They can provide social support to vulnerable individuals and engage in follow-up care, fight stigma and support those bereaved by suicide. They can help give individuals a sense of belonging and a feeling of connectedness by being part of a community. Lastly, communities can also implement specific suicide prevention strategies relevant to their situation. .

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