The Jingle Blues!
With thanks to our member Dafiny Alves for this article. I was about seventeen the first time I heard of “winter depression”. My father was driving me to school, and the man on the radio was talking a...
With thanks to our Organisational Member Papyrus and the team at Hopeline for this article.
Is Christmas always merry?
Christmas is a time when we all come together with friends and family, share gifts, spread feelings of love and excitement and indulge in good food and drink. However, it is important to realise that the festive period is far from a positive experience for many. Working on HOPELINE247 in the lead up to the Christmas period has allowed us to understand some contributing factors of why many people struggle with their mental health at a time that is perceived to be joyful for all.
A theme that often comes through on the helpline is loneliness and isolation
Although loneliness is a year-round issue, Christmas is a time that imposes the societal norms of getting together with loved ones and creating special memories. However, we understand that there are many people who spend this time of year on their own. For those who don’t have positive relationships with their family this time of year may often feel equally as lonely as those who are spending Christmas alone. Many people worry about being around people on the lead up to Christmas whom they don’t get along with.
Supporting our Hopeline advisers at Papyrus
As Hopeline advisers, we focus on supporting people to keep safe from suicide. It can be natural to feel the want to be a listening service at this time of year and empathise with those who are lonely. It is essential to realise the importance of sticking to our remit of service and signposting accordingly. This allows service users to get the support they need whilst also allowing those at immediate risk of suicide to get through to an adviser for support that focuses on keeping safe. It can be challenging when callers share with us that they feel no one is supporting them and the best way to deal with this as advisers is to focus on what we can offer to support these callers.
One way of doing this is ensuring that we are up to date with signposting resources whilst making sure we have an understanding of what other services can offer. Accurate signposting gives us the knowledge we have provided the service user with support that is more suited to their needs.
Bereavement can lead to Christmas being a time of sadness – an empty seat at a table that was once full can bring a range of emotions that may cause Christmas to be emotionally challenging. As advisers on Hopeline, this can provoke thoughts of our own loved ones who are no longer here. Recognising times we may be vulnerable, and learning ways to manage this is crucial in protecting our own wellbeing in order to sustain the support we provide to others. We manage this by ensuring we are taking regular breaks and giving each other emotional support when and if needed. We understand that grief affects people in different ways and allowing people to process grief in their own way is important in maintaining staff wellbeing.
Financial difficulties can be amplified at Christmas due to it being the most expensive time of year. Often people feel the need to live up to social media expectations where newsfeeds are flooded with the best and most wanted gifts. We often speak to parents on the helpline who are stressed with the choice of paying bills or keeping up with the latest trends to gift their children. As advisers, we can often relate to these pressures. This enables us to provide high quality, empathic understanding when supporting these callers. The advice that we give on these calls helps us to realise that the advice we are giving others is advice we should be taking ourselves. These calls give us the opportunity to shine a light on the aspects of Christmas that are far more important than the presents under the tree.
Although supporting our own wellbeing is important all year round, over the Christmas period this may look a bit different. As an adviser, our own emotional resilience may be compromised due to several factors. This could include being away from our own families at Christmas time. Although this can be challenging, it is crucial that we are able to avoid letting our own emotions impact the support we provide others. We do this by taking more regular breaks and speaking to colleagues to prevent burnout. Taking more breaks gives advisers the opportunity to connect with their own loved ones via phone calls or messages. This creates a positive atmosphere within the office which helps eliminate resentment at a time when being in work may be more emotionally challenging.
