Ground-breaking suicide prevention campaign for young people launches
Key headlines:
- United to Prevent Suicide has launched a new campaign for young people, Better Tomorrow
- First time any national suicide prevention campaign has specifically targeted 16–20-year olds
- Extensive co-production and testing with more than 300 young people shaped campaign
- Four Tik Tok stars will lead the campaign, with content also across Instagram & YouTube
- Comes as new suicide prevention Youth Advisory Group is formed ahead of a new long-term suicide prevention strategy due for launch in autumn
Scotland’s social movement for change on suicide has launched the country’s first ever suicide prevention campaign directly aimed at young people aged 16–20.
Better Tomorrow from United to Prevent Suicide will encourage young people to talk, listen and support each other for a better tomorrow. It’s the third major campaign in less than two years.
At the heart of the campaign will be content co-created with four social media influencers, which they will share on their own Tik Tok channels. The content will also be promoted on Tik Tok, Instagram and YouTube. A new campaign page is also live on unitedtopreventsuicide.org.uk.
Suicide is a leading cause of death among young people in Scotland. In 2020, 91 15–24-year olds died by suicide. We know that approximately 1 in 20 people in Scotland are thinking about suicide at any one time.
The team behind United To Prevent Suicide co-developed and tested the Better Tomorrow suicide prevention campaign extensively with more than 300 young people aged 16–20, many whom have lived experience of suicide.
Featuring in this campaign are:
Max M Selwood (@maxselwood) shares his personal tips for coping with anxiety and addressing toxic masculinity and misconceptions around men and mental health (51.1K followers)
Lizandra Leigertwood MA MBACP (@newframetherapy) is a psychotherapist and coach who provides her point of a view on a number of subjects, including trauma, anxiety and relationships (5K followers)
Doctor Ethan (@doctorethan) is a young NHS doctor who covers a range of medical topics (184.4K followers)
Saira Ayan (@sairaayan_) had a suicide attempt and has spoken about the things she would’ve missed if she was gone (278.8K)
In the first Tik Tok video, Max M Selwood (25) says, “I want to share with you one of my hardest mental health moments so you feel less alone.
“About two years ago I thought I had completely lost my mind. I was experiencing really debilitating health anxiety.
“I felt my brain had been fried, I felt like I was losing my mind…I struggled to eat, sleep or do anything I loved, whether with friends or family.
“I was just in pain which then unfortunately it made me have suicidal thoughts, as I could not take the pain any longer.
“Because of this I reached out to loved ones and spoke to a therapist. It wasn’t like a switch that all of a sudden because I was speaking I got better, but gradually it allowed me to get better and better.
“Instead of a down day every single day it was every two days, then I would feel down once a week, then maybe I would feel down every two weeks and then every three weeks. The distances between feeling good and bad got bigger and bigger.
“This is why speaking out and getting help and finding sense and understanding through community absolutely changed my life.”
United to Prevent Suicide is a Scottish Government campaign as part of the country’s Suicide Prevention Action Plan (SPAP) to promote public awareness of suicide prevention, and in particular that talking saves lives.
Delivery of SPAP is supported by the National Suicide Prevention Leadership Group (NSPLG) which brings together lived experience, professional experience (both public and charity sector) and academic experience.
Better Tomorrow comes at a time when the Scottish Government is preparing to launch a new long-term suicide prevention strategy in September.
Children and young people are now at the heart of Scotland’s approach to suicide prevention.
Following global recognition of the value and effectiveness of NSPLG’s Lived Experience Panel by the World Health Organisation (WHO), a new Youth Advisory Group has been established, delivered by Children in Scotland and University of Stirling. It will meet for the first time this autumn, with members co-designing and testing approaches that will help prevent suicide as part of the new strategy.
“This is a ground-breaking campaign very specifically designed with and for young people,” says NSPLG chair Rose Fitzpatrick CBE QPM.
“It’s the first time we’ve ever seen a project of this nature in Scotland. Better Tomorrow helps us respond in part to two key commitments within the current Suicide Prevention Action Plan.
“One is to raise public awareness, which given rates of suicide in young people is critical. The second is to put children and young people at the heart of everything we do to prevent suicide.
“The extensive testing and co-production in this campaign, along with the launch of our new Youth Advisory Group is a sign of just how serious we are about ensuring that no young person should ever feel that suicide is inevitable. I’m sure we’re going to see much more of this in the new strategy, this autumn. Scotland has never been more focused on suicide prevention.”
Mental Wellbeing Minister Kevin Stewart added: “The Scottish Government welcomes the launch of the Better Tomorrow campaign as a way to connect with young people about their mental health.
“I am pleased to see the campaign has been designed with young people themselves and tries new ways to reach and connect with each other — which we know is so important.
“Our ambition is a Scotland where everyone works together to prevent suicide and people affected by suicide get the support they need. This campaign is part of us working to achieve that ambition.”
