While some give generously during the holiday season, Heather Owen worries about what will transpire in the new year.
According to numbers supplied by Owen, Vancouver Island Crisis Line community relations coordinator, the volume of calls to the organization increased to 2,561 from 2,294 between December 2013 and this past January. Interventions increased to 247 from 238 during the same time.
Owen said there aren’t many calls right at Christmas time, and estimates it is because of the holiday cheer and all the charitable organizations and their related campaigns.
After the Christmas lights are taken down, however, depression and other issues can increase, she said.
“It tends to be a worse time after New Year’s, like into January,” said Owen. “It’s a particularly difficult time because if you’re someone that’s dealing with depression or struggling through something or financial strain or anything like that, it doesn’t go away.”
The feeling of isolation and loneliness can be amongst the hardest things to deal with and connecting with someone a depressed person feels close to, whether it be a neighbour, worker our counsellor or the crisis line, can be beneficial.
“Wherever you feel that you can reach out and just let go of some of this because carrying it around on your own shoulders, it just gets to be too much sometimes and that’s when dangerous thoughts, like suicide can come in,” Owen said.
The Vancouver Island Crisis Line offers people the opportunity to vent and reach out and talk to somebody.
The line is available 24 hours a day and additionally, there is an online database, which lists all the services available on Vancouver Island.
If you are suffering through depression, please call the Vancouver Island Crisis Line at 1-888-494-3888. Crisis text services and chat services are also available. For more information, please go to www.vicrisis.ca.