A new campaign to prevent suicide is being backed by Perth and Kinross Council.
Charity Choose Life is sending out the message “If you can read between the lines, you can save lives” as part of Suicide Prevention week.
Every day in Scotland two people take their own lives and the subject carries a great taboo, according to the organisation.
They want to tackle the stigma and help to reduce the number of deaths by raising awareness that, if you’re worried about someone, asking directly about their feelings can help save their life.
As part of their support for the campaign, the council ran a Q&A session on social media site Twitter on Monday night, which highlighted a number of places where those who may be considering taking their own life can go for help.
The Choose Life campaign accepts that signs of suicide can be ambiguous but encourages people to be alert to the warning signals and take all evidence of distress seriously, even if the person seems to be living a normal life.
Alana Atkinson, lead for the National Programme for Suicide Prevention at NHS Health Scotland, said: “It is difficult to take something positive out of a situation where people find their personal circumstances so desperate they feel compelled to take their own lives. However we are continuing to see a reduction in the number of people who have died by suicide in Scotland.
“In saying that, it is vital that to address the complex and challenging issue of suicide everyone needs to work together. We all have a role to play in reducing the number of preventable deaths by suicide.
“Our campaign encourages people to be aware of any signs that someone they know isn’t quite themselves or they notice any changes in their behaviour that causes concern.
“It also lets you know where they can get help from our partners, Breathing Space and Samaritans.”
The council’s executive director of housing and community care, John Walker, said the local authority had promoted SafeTalk Training to highlight how to recognise those at risk of suicide.
He said: “In 2013, there were 170 deaths on Scottish roads 750 people took their own life.
“We can all pass by situations on a day-to-day basis which makes you think something is not quite right.
“Often this is fleeting and largely ignored. SafeTalk asks you to trust your instincts to pause and look and listen again.”
Campaign posters and information will be displayed at a range of locations, including community centres, Job Centre Plus, GP surgeries, pharmacies, work places and police stations.
You can find out more at www.pkc.gov.uk/suicideprevention.