People are being urged to make finding time to talk about mental health one of their New Year’s resolutions to help break down stigma around the issue.

It comes as research published on Monday showed that about eight in ten (81%) people in Scotland say their understanding of how mental health stigma and discrimination affects people has improved over the last 20 years.

See Me – Scotland’s programme to end mental health stigma and discrimination – is now urging people to open up mental health conversations in places such as schools, colleges, communities, workplaces and with friends and family ahead of Time to Talk Day on February 2.

After two years of online activity, Time to Talk Day will this year run as a mixture of online and in-person events and activities, to get as many people as possible talking about mental health.

See Me volunteer Richard Wood, 46, who lives in Glasgow, is among those who have experienced the benefits of talking about mental health.

Mr Wood has struggled with his mental health since he started having panic attacks at the age of 15 but did not start to talk more openly about his issues until he had a breakdown in 2017.

He said: “I spent the best part of 30 years pretending that my mental health wasn’t as bad as it actually was.

“Mental health just wasn’t spoken about, so I convinced myself that all my problems were either of my own making or it was down to some sort of a failing on my part.

“I’ve had so many conversations about my mental health over the last few years. That’s been with a whole range of people – in medical settings and healthcare, but also with friends, family, colleagues, lots of different people.

“I think every conversation is important, because it all helps break down those barriers and normalise things.”

Mr Wood signed up to run the Edinburgh Marathon in aid of the Mental Health Foundation in 2019, writing openly about his mental health on his fundraising page, and said he was blown away by people’s reactions and the conversations it sparked with friends.

He is now encouraging people across Scotland to support Time to Talk Day and start a conversation about mental health on February 2.

He said: “You really don’t know what anybody else is going through. For me, the idea of anybody actually knowing how I was feeling and what I was going through was petrifying, but I know how much it helped when I finally spoke about it.

“Taking the time to talk and listen is so important.”

Time to Talk Day aims to help break down barriers and reduce the stigma which prevents many people from asking for help when they need it.

See Me director Wendy Halliday said: “As the cost-of-living crisis impacts on families and individuals across the country, it is no surprise that people’s mental health is taking a hit.

“Time to Talk Day provides an ideal opportunity to open up about some of the worries that will be weighing on people’s minds and how that’s making them feel.

“Talking about mental health reduces stigma, helping to create supportive communities where we can talk openly about mental health and feel empowered to seek help when we need it.

“By talking about mental health, we can bust myths and break down barriers – and ease some of the pressures that many of us are feeling just now.”

The research, which questioned 1,000 people in Scotland, was conducted by Censuswide in August last year.