Each September, Suicide Awareness Month provides an opportunity to confront one of the most pressing, yet stigmatised, issues in public health. Oftentimes, suicide is viewed as a global concern; though framing things more locally approaches the root of the issue in a stronger way, all the way down to the core of our St. Andrews bubble. With Scotland continuing to report persistently high suicide rates equating to a rate of 12.7 per 100,000 people in 2024, we must begin to recognise that quantifiable numbers do not make the importance of suicide awareness statistics alone. The real challenge occurs in recognising the quiet struggles that people around us may be going through. When we reduce stigma, we create space for honesty. When we talk openly, we remind our friends, classmates, and even ourselves that seeking help is a sign of strength, not weakness.
Within the University of St Andrews, a community marked both by academic excellence and the unique pressures of student life in such an isolated space, Suicide Awareness Month invites reflection, dialogue, and action within our bubble. In Scotland, where suicide remains a major public health concern, this month is a vital reminder to check in on ourselves and one another. Here in St Andrews, these conversations feel especially important within a community as close-knit as this one.
For myself, this isn’t just a campaign on the calendar, or a list of resources with no meaning behind them. It sticks to me in a very personal way. I lost someone very dear to me to suicide, and that loss has not only shifted the way I see mental health, but it has deeply changed the way I see the world and those around me. It taught me how present the people around us are, and how much it turns the world upside down when they are no longer here. There is no way of ever knowing how invisible someone’s struggles can be, even to those who love them more than anything. It also made me believe that awareness, conversation, and support networks are more than abstract ideas; they truly save lives.
St Andrews and Student Mental Health
Universities represent a critical setting for suicide prevention, especially universities such as such St. Andrews. In a community that is often a bubble of isolation from what feels like reality with so many different equations dividing people, it is incredibly easy to find oneself slipping into agreement with the common student sentiment of division among social groups and a ‘hustle culture’ that haunts everywhere from the pub patios to lecture halls.
In a culture of no even divide, it is important to recognise the unequal distribution in suicide rates across the country. Individuals living in the most deprived areas of Scotland are estimated to be 2.5 times more likely to die by suicide compared with those in the least deprived areas. Structural and social determinants, arguably some of the most key factors in determining student satisfaction within St. Andrews, further move our conversation into broader questions of access, inequality, and support.
The transition to higher education often involves increased academic pressure, social adjustment, and, for many, geographic displacement from support networks. At the University of St Andrews, there are notable efforts to address these challenges. Student Services provide counselling, wellbeing coordination, and tailored mental health support. Additionally, initiatives such as Nightline; a confidential student-run listening service and peer-support programme; supplements as institutional provision. Nobody truly knows mental health in St. Andrews better than those who live directly within it, and I encourage anyone at any stage of a negative slip in mental health to reach out.
At the policy level, the University has been recognised for developing a Mental Health Toolkit and training schemes designed to equip staff and students with skills to identify and respond to signs of distress. These measures reflect the increasing institutional recognition that suicide prevention is not only a matter of individual counselling but also of cultural change within the academic environment.
Creating a Culture of Care
Normalising dialogue: reducing the stigma associated with discussing suicide and mental health.
Enhancing accessibility of services: ensuring students are aware of, and able to access, support in a timely manner.
Peer engagement: encouraging students to take an active role in wellbeing initiatives, thereby cultivating a culture of mutual care.
Structural change: acknowledging that suicide prevention is linked to broader inequalities and addressing systemic barriers where possible.
These steps may feel small, but collectively, they make our community stronger for anyone in it.
Moving Forward with Hope
My own experience of loss has reinforced how difficult it truly is to detect hidden struggles and the importance of fostering a culture in which disclosure is possible without fear of stigma. The literature on suicide prevention consistently emphasises the role of open communication, community engagement, and the normalisation of help-seeking behaviours. Suicide Awareness Month, therefore, functions not merely as symbolic recognition but as a practical intervention that encourages dialogue and reduces isolation.
Suicide Awareness Month isn’t just about loss. It’s about hope within loss; in moving forward even when it feels so much easier to stay stuck in one place. It’s about ensuring that those who are struggling know they’re not alone, and that help is available.
Embodying this message at St. Andrews means drawing on the culture of a famously close community. We are given the chance; each day in our three streets; to participate in bringing meaning to emptiness and awareness to silence. We have the opportunity to embody a message of care: nobody should have to suffer alone in a place in which it is so very hard to be alone in. By speaking up, reaching out, and supporting one another, we can build a culture where no one feels they have to suffer in silence.
If you are struggling, support is available:
Samaritans: Call 116 123 (free, 24/7)
Breathing Space Scotland: 0800 83 85 87 (evenings & weekends)
NHS 24: Call 111
University of St Andrews Student Services: Wellbeing & Mental Health
Nightline: Confidential listening run by students, available during term time