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SAMH’s new campaign tackles mental health stigma and discrimination

  • Area of Work: The ALLIANCE
  • Type: News Item
  • Published: 25th March 2026

Show Up is a multi-year campaign which will focus on the areas where change is most needed.

People with mental health illnesses die on average 15 years earlier than the general population, with two-thirds of deaths being due to preventable causes, which are routinely overlooked.

Show Up, a new campaign led by SAMH, calls for real change for people living with mental illness.

Launched alongside SAMH’s 2026 Scottish Election Manifesto, Show Up calls on the next Scottish Government to take urgent action to ensure people with mental illness are not dying because of a healthcare system that too often discriminates against them.

The campaign webpage highlights ways that you can Show Up for people with mental illness, including understanding rights relating to mental health and illness, learning more about mental health stigma and discrimination, and writing to your MSPs and election candidates.

Show Up is calling for the next Scottish Government to reduce the life expectancy gap between people living with mental illness and people without by at least 10% by 2034 and by 25% by 2046, through:

  • Annual physical health checks designed specifically to catch those issues which are regularly missed 
  • Improved access to tailored healthy lifestyle programmes 
  • Action to reduce the disproportionate number of people with mental illness living in poverty, including dedicated employment support and a fair social security system. 

For more information on Show Up and how you can support the campaign, visit the Show Up webpage.

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