Samaritans
Things on your mind?

What kind of things can I contact Samaritans about?

Samaritans is available to anyone who is in any kind of distress. People of all backgrounds and ages contact us for emotional support.

Sometimes people call us because they are struggling to cope with a single problem that they have. More often, people contact us because a number of problems have mounted up and they’re finding it hard to cope.

People often feel that they cannot talk to anyone else. Maybe they feel that they’re a burden or that they don’t want to worry people around them. Sometimes people have found others are too quick to offer advice or tell them what to do and this has meant they don’t really feel listened to or understood.

All calls are confidential and we don’t keep detailed records about why people call Samaritans, but some common reasons people contact us are:

  • relationship and family problems
  • loss, including loss of a job, a friend or a family member through bereavement
  • financial worries
  • job related stress or overwork
  • college or study related stress
  • loneliness and isolation

Only 14% of people surveyed for us in 2007 gave one reason for contacting Samaritans. 56% listed up to 5 reasons, showing that the reasons for people’s distress are usually multi-faceted.

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