Urgent help
If you need someone now.
You do not have to be in crisis to phone any of these. Wanting to talk to somebody at two in the morning is reason enough.
If there is immediate danger
Phone 999, or go to your nearest A&E. That includes if you have taken something, or hurt yourself, or you do not think you can keep yourself safe tonight.
Free helplines in Scotland
- Samaritans116 12324 hours, every day of the year. Free from any phone. Any age.
- Shouttext SHOUT to 8525824 hours, every day. Free. If you cannot face speaking out loud, use this one.
- NHS 24111For urgent mental health help when your GP surgery is closed. Ask for the mental health hub.
- Breathing Space0800 83 85 87Not 24 hours. Monday to Thursday, 6pm to 2am. Friday 6pm right through to Monday 6am. Scotland only, age 16 and over.
- Childline0800 111124 hours, every day. Under 19s. Free, and it does not show on the phone bill.
- Cruse Scotland0808 802 6161Bereavement support. Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm, and until 8pm on Mondays and Thursdays. Free.
Hours checked on the 18th of August 2026. Re-check before publishing, and every six months after that.
A few things worth saying plainly
I am not a crisis service. I hold one appointment a week and I do not read email in the evenings or at weekends. Nothing sent to me will be read at three in the morning, and I would rather you knew that now than found it out on a bad night.
Breathing Space is the one people get wrong. It is often described as round the clock and it is not. Phoning at three on a Tuesday afternoon gets you nowhere, and that is a horrible thing to discover when you have finally worked up to making a call. Samaritans and Shout are the two that are always open.
If you are outside Scotland, and some people I see online are, then 999, Samaritans and Shout all still apply. The others are Scottish services and may not be able to help you.
Your GP matters more than people think. If this has been going on a long time, a GP appointment sits alongside counselling rather than instead of it. What that appointment ought to cover is not something a counsellor should be telling you.