If the Christmas and New Year period is particularly tough for you, a few words aimed in your direction. Thank you for reading.
Hello! It’s a terrible start to a piece like this to tell people not to read it, but, if the Christmas and New Year festivities are going well for you, you’re looking forward to them, you’re feeling okay… well, this piece isn’t really for you. I wish you the very best, and greetings of the season to you.
This piece instead is for those struggling. To those for whom Christmas and New Year is a particularly dark and difficult time, where feelings of dread are more likely to be found than feelings of happiness.
This little collection of non-AI-generated words on the internet can’t turn everything around, of course. But still: however it may feel, you’re really not alone. Be it family, finances, health, bullies… there are a zillion reasons why things can be tough at the moment, not least when the perception is that life is perfect for others. It isn’t, and social media accounts and whatnot have a habit of making it look so. But still, that doesn’t help when mental health is kicking our asses.
A few tiny suggestions, then.
If it’s possible to open up to someone about how you’re feeling, either in person or online, please, please, please, please do that. It can, of course, be really difficult to do so, but sharing a problem, sharing a difficult, is often the starting point to making some progress with it. Please don’t be discouraged if the person you’re opening up to doesn’t get the gravity of it. It’s baby steps, and please keep going.
If you’re uncomfortable chatting to someone in person, then maybe start by leaving a comment below? We’re all human beings, no matter what the internet sometimes presents us with. Maybe someone will say hello back. That’d be a nice start?
I’m a huge advocate to the brilliant support groups around too, and have talked to them myself over the years. These are groups who – as I often say – are as keen to help and support people at the start of their tether as they are at the end. These organisations exist for a reason, and have far more expertise than me. Again, it’s all about human beings wanting to help human beings. Please: do consider reaching out. Even an email to them. What harm can it do?
These are the organisations that I tend to keep promoting. Again, feel free to add more in the comments…
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The Campaign Against Living Miserably, CALM, has a free and confidential helpline that opens from 5pm-midnight every day. It’s 0800 58 58 58. It also has a webchat service via its website: https://www.thecalmzone.net/2016/12/you-can-talk-to-calm/
If you’re struggling with bereavement, then Cruse is wonderful. It has a free helpline at 0808 808 1677, and you can find its website here https://www.cruse.org.uk/
The Samaritans is open around the clock. Its freephone number is 116 123 from the UK, and you can email jo@samaritans.org. You can find its website at www.samaritans.org
If you’re older and struggling, then The Silver Line is a helpline for senior citizens. You can contact it on 0800 4 70 80 90, and it’s open all over Christmas and New Year. Its website is https://www.thesilverline.org.uk/
Conversely, if you’re young and struggling, then Young Minds is a brilliant organisation. You can find its website here: https://youngminds.org.uk/. Young Minds also has resources for parents, too.
If it’s a friend you’re worried about, then this article at the Samaritans, again, is far better than I can do: https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/if-youre-worried-about-someone-else/
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I’m sorry I don’t have a magic wand, and wish I did. But please: keep going. Find a way to get to tomorrow, and then the day after, and then the day after, and so on. I hope that the coming weeks and months find a smile or two for you somewhere, and thank you so much for coming to our website and reading this. It’s very much appreciated. As are you.
Best to you all x
Simon and the Film Stories team
