A north mum who rescued her son moments before he attempted suicide has issued a heartfelt plea for more help for those struggling in the Highlands.
Susan Sutherland, 57, from Thurso has struggled with her own mental health issues for decades, and now has to be strong for her two troubled children, who both have Asperger’s syndrome.
It was just by chance that Susan stopped her son from causing himself real harm one morning when she knocked on his bedroom door to check if he wanted a cup of tea.
She said: “I knew he was in a very dark place, which lockdown had made far worse.
“He had started self-harming and was going to carry on if I hadn’t got up when I did.”
Susan doesn’t want to name her son, who suffers from extreme social anxiety.
She added: “The ambulance and police attended, and they were fantastic.
“They told us about the crisis nurse, a service we knew nothing about.
“She is based in Inverness, and can only be accessed via referral, but she is trained in psychiatry and was really helpful.
“She gave me helpful insights into how to help my son, and she’s got him some occupational therapy which he seems to be enjoying.”
‘Mental health is different for everyone, there’s no ‘one size fits all’
Susan said she has taken both her children to various organisations for help over the years, but found a lack of training in mental health hampered their efforts.
She highlighted the many challenges in an incident with her daughter Andi McKay, 26, who has body dysmorphia and extreme social anxiety.
She said: “One time I had to pay £180 there and back to take Andi to New Craigs. By the time I got back to Thurso she was on the phone in tears wanting to come home, it broke our hearts.
“I never got the money back because she went voluntarily.”
Reacting to news that Caithness is to be first in line for a grant of £534,000 from the Scottish Government to help youngsters aged from five to 24 with mental health issues resulting from the pandemic, Susan set out her views on priorities to help troubled youngsters.
Caithness first to receive funding to tackle Covid-related mental health issues among the young
She said: “Mental health is different for everyone, there’s no ‘one size fits all’.
“But first off, I would like to see a safe place, maybe in Wick, where people could go and be helped to feel calm.
“It could be manned by volunteers with experience, and I would definitely volunteer.
“I noticed with my son he was holding a lot of pent up anger, so the room could have equipment in it like a bike, a treadmill or a even a punching bag, something where they could lash out, rather than hurting themselves.
“I would also like more availability from the crisis nurse. She is brilliant, but based in Inverness from 9-5pm.”
Susan praised the efforts of the Caithness No More Lost Souls mental health support group, in which she describes herself as “auntie” to all.
