Support
Mental health matters.
The Dispatch is a football site. But football communities are made up of real people, and real people sometimes struggle. We’re not experts, and this page isn’t a substitute for professional support — but we wanted to make sure these resources were somewhere easy to find.
If you’re going through something, you’re not alone, and you don’t have to deal with it in silence.
If you need to talk to someone now
Samaritans
116 123
Free. Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can also email jo@samaritans.org
Breathing Space (Scotland)
0800 83 85 87
Free. Mon–Thu 6pm–2am · Fri 6pm through to Mon 6am
CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably)
0800 58 58 58
Free. Every day 5pm–midnight. Also has a webchat if calling feels too much.
Shout
Text SHOUT to 85258
Free crisis text line. 24/7. If you’d rather type than talk.
NHS 24
111
Scotland’s out-of-hours health line. Available 24/7 for urgent medical and mental health concerns.
Apps worth knowing about
Headspace ↗
Guided meditation and mindfulness. Good starting point.
Calm ↗
Sleep, breathing and relaxation. Useful when anxiety spikes at night.
Wysa ↗
AI chat for when you want to express something but aren’t ready to talk to a person.
Daylio ↗
Quick mood tracking. Helps you spot patterns over time without having to journal.
Further support
- SAMH — Scottish Association for Mental Health. Support, information and local services.
- See Me Scotland — Scotland’s programme to end mental health stigma.
- Hub of Hope — Find mental health support near you by postcode.
- Andy’s Man Club — Free peer-to-peer support groups for men. Several groups across Scotland.
Need to vent? We’re here.
We’re not counsellors, and we won’t pretend to be. But if you just need to get something off your chest and aren’t sure where else to turn, you’re welcome to drop us an email at editor@steelmendispatch.co.uk. We’ll read it, and we’ll write back.