Samaritans Get Soaring Number Of Crisis Calls

Calls made to the Samaritans helpline over the festive period rose by more than a quarter this year, according to new figures. The Dundee branch of the charity reported an increase of “at least 25%” in the number of calls it received on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

New national figures also showed that Boxing Day overtook New Year’s Day as the busiest day of 2006 for calls to the national hotline.

Joyce Beattie, chairwoman of the Dundee Samaritans, said there had been a noticeable increase in calls over the days around Christmas and New Year.

“The week before Christmas was much busier than we would normally see,” she said.

“I would say it was up by at least 25% on Christmas Day and Boxing Day compared with last year.”

“It is a really, really difficult time for people because in the midst of a family you can still feel very isolated. We have had a lot of calls from people who have felt very alone.

“Some people didn’t have anybody to talk and just felt very lonely. Between Christmas and New Year, everything on the television is about families and all the adverts are about families and some people don’t have families or don’t communicate with them if they do.

“We have also had a few calls about debt from people who have overspent on their credit card and are anxious about the bill coming in.”

There were 5,398 calls made – 29% more than last year – to the national 08457 90 90 90 hotline on December 26.

On New Year’s Day – which is traditionally the busiest day – there were 5,350 calls.

There were 4,758 calls made to the national Samaritans number on Christmas Day, and on December 31 – New Year’s Eve – there were 4,376.

Organisers say at least the same number of calls again would have been made directly to the 202 local branches of the service on their own numbers.

A national spokesman for the charity said Boxing Day had been “unusually busy”.

“The large rise in calls to Samaritans on Boxing Day this year is mainly put down to people who were with friends or families on Christmas Day and returned to their own homes, to be alone on Boxing Day, and then felt unsupported and contacted Samaritans for help,” he said.

“The nature of most calls to Samaritans was concerning isolation or loneliness throughout the Christmas period.”

It is thought the increase may be down to people finding themselves alone again after festivities and realising that problems and anxieties that had been put on hold, including financial issues, still have to be resolved.

Experts say stress and depression becomes more prevalent as people return to work and face many more dark days before sunlight returns.

January and February are the months when the Samaritans receive the most calls from those feeling depressed or down.

The third Monday in January – known as Blue Monday – is considered to be the most depressing day of the year and the Samaritans is holding a Stress Down Day campaign working towards its annual work-related Stress Down Day on February 1.

Details can be found on the www.stressdownday.org website.