Callers to Samaritans 'overwhelmed' by recession

THE LEVEL of stress and anxiety expressed by callers to the Samaritans Ireland helpline in the last 12 months has been more intense than in recent years, according to a new report.

The intensity was probably linked to “the duration of time that people have been uncertain and anxious” about the recession, said director of the charity Suzanne Costello.

Samaritans Ireland Impact Report November 2009-October 2010 found the charity received almost 250,000 “dialogue calls” in the last 12 months, up 13,000 on last year.

There was also an increase in the number relating to financial stress, from one in 10 in 2009 to one in eight in the last 12 months.

An additional 117,000 calls were received by the charity in the last year from people who did not speak at all.

Launched by Minister of State for Mental Health John Moloney, the report found the average number of calls received by the 24-hour help line every day was 669.

Some 55 per cent of calls were received between 6pm and 6am. The busiest day of the week was Saturday, but the busiest hour was Friday between 9pm and 10pm.

Ms Costello said on some calls people just cried for a long period before gathering themselves enough to speak.

This reflected how they were “struggling to cope”.

“There are feelings of being overwhelmed, of lots of problems coming from different places and all arriving at once,” she said.

“There is a sense for some people that things have changed very quickly; people who were previously quite well off suddenly seem to be suffering very rapidly.”

She said the strains seemed to be impacting on relationships.

“There is considerable contact around relationship difficulties that seems to have a link to financial difficulty. Those issues may have become deepened as a result of other pressures in the home.”

It was recognised that recession placed increased stress on people’s mental health, and that people who were unemployed were at higher risk of suicide and mental health issues, Ms Costello said. But what was less recognised was the whole issue of uncertainty and anxiety.

The financial crisis had been going on for a long period and therefore “the intensification of these feelings” was probably linked to “the duration of time that people have been uncertain and anxious and not knowing what was coming next”.

She said issues around self-harm, depression, anxiety, bereavement loneliness and suicidal thought also featured, but there was no doubt that “events that have happened to the country in the last year have exacerbated a lot of those”.

Ms Costello also said the almost 120,000 silent calls received by the help line could be attributed to people not having the confidence to speak, or to people waiting to hear the “right voice” at the other end. People might also be calling the number to check there was someone there if they needed to talk.

Speaking at the launch, Mr Moloney thanked the charity for the “huge contribution” it was making. It had stepped in 50 years ago when mental health “wasn’t an issue” in Ireland.

The Samaritans helpline is 1850-609090