In crisis at Christmas

by Liz Smith

Why the festive period is often difficult for people living with mental illness

Christmas is almost here and many of us here in the UK are busy preparing to spend time with family, eat Christmas dinner, give and open presents, and enjoy some time away from the cares of everyday life. But for a lot of people battling mental ill health, the festive season represents anything but a break, because such issues can actually worsen at this time of year.

Social isolation

Many of our visitors to Dial House and callers to Connect are socially isolated, for a variety of reasons. This can simply be physical distance from friends and family, but it could also be due to bereavement or estrangement from family. It can also simply be hard to socialise when you are unwell, even if you do have some support structures in place.

Pressure to “be merry”

We frequently hear that people feel guilt when they do spend time with family and friends, because a mental health condition may make it difficult to participate fully in festive activities, or be as “happy” as the occasion often demands of us. This often leads many sufferers to isolate themselves because they believe they won’t make a positive contribution to the festivities, which can be a vicious cycle.

Uncertainty

The prospect of a new year brings new possibilities. Many of us look forward to making fresh starts, resolutions, starting new chapters in our lives. Not knowing what the new year can bring can be very exciting, but many people living with mental health issues struggle with change and uncertainty, so this can worsen feelings of anxiety, stress, fear, and even depression, which may lead to crisis.

How does LSLCS help at Christmas?

Dial House, Dial House @Touchstone, the Connect helpline, and the newly-opened Crisis Café in Lincoln Green (run in partnership with Touchstone) are all open as normal over the festive period. We understand that crisis can become more acute at this time of year and there is less support because other services may be operating at a reduced capacity. We plan well ahead for the festive season to ensure that we have plenty of staff and volunteers ready to support visitors and callers in crisis as much as we can.

We are survivor-led, which means that our highly trained staff and volunteers all have personal experience of mental health. We strive to offer a non-judgemental and empathetic service to our visitors and callers from all over the Leeds area, whether they access our mental health support services in person, over the phone or online. If you are struggling with crisis this Christmas and New Year and live in the Leeds area, you will receive a warm welcome from our staff and volunteers and a safe space to talk.

If you know someone in the Leeds area who may benefit from using our services over Christmas and New Year, then passing on our details may be the best gift you can give this year.