Samaritans is here for anyone who feels they need emotional support at any time over the festive period, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

When many other services have been suspended over Christmas and New Year, Samaritans is still open all hours for anyone in any kind of emotional distress.

Christmas is a wonderful time of year for many people, immersed in parties with family, friends and work colleagues, but for others it can be a challenging period which triggers feelings of intense loneliness and isolation.

For those who have lost someone close, for the elderly living alone and for people living far away from their own families, including those working here from abroad, Christmas can be alienating. It can also be a testing time of year for those with large families who feel the financial burden of the festive season and the pressure of having to entertain lots of people.

A volunteer in our Cardiff branch who worked Christmas Day last year said: “At Samaritans you never know who you’re going to speak to. People ring in with all manner of life’s problems, usually when they feel they can’t cope. No one is immune to feeling lonely. We can be surrounded by family and friends and still feel the need to speak to someone who doesn’t know us.”

“At Christmas everyday problems become amplified but it is important to remember that however low you are feeling there is always someone there at the end of the line and Samaritans is totally confidential.”

Dominic Rudd, Chief Executive with Samaritans said: “For some people the bright lights of Christmas can actually emphasise any problems they may have. Seeing everyone else apparently having fun all around them can be really tough, especially if they are on their own, or even and sometimes especially if they are with family and friends.