Telefonseelsorge at Christmas time in high demand

Loneliness is the most frequent reason for phone chores

12/24/2012

At Christmas time, the wires run hot on the telephone counseling. While many people enjoy the holidays in the company of the family, others torment over Christmas special grief. They feel particularly lonely in the face of the media-mediated image of family feast and harmony.

Loneliness is one of the main reasons for the increased phone calls at Christmas time, said Alexander Fischhold, head of the Catholic telephone ministry Munich in conversation with „tz online“. During the holidays, many people fall into a personal crisis, confirmed the Protestant Church Westphalia in a statement on Friday. Different reasons such as conflicts in the family, separations or the death of the life partner have the consequence that many people spend the Christmas holidays alone. This is due to the universally celebrated conviviality for the victims often very difficult. Help can be found at the various telephone counseling hotlines.

Telephone counseling available around the clock
As Alexander Fischhold explained, the employees of the Catholic (Tel .: 0800/1110111) but also the Protestant telephone counseling (0800/111 0 111) can be reached around the clock during the holidays. The needy also find help with other hotlines such as the number against grief for children and adolescents or the Crisis Psychiatry. In addition, people with their problems by chat on the Internet () can contact the volunteer and trained staff of the telephone counseling. These offer the affected people support for grief and hardships of any kind, whereby over the holidays usually discussions around the topic of loneliness form the focus, explained Alexander Fischhold. The work of Telefonseelsorge gains over the holidays a special meaning, because due to the mental complaints and the number of suicide attempts at Christmas by about 40 percent.

Loneliness at Christmas is the most common topic of telephone pastoral care
It is difficult at this point that the media mediate Christmas as a feast of family and harmony, but some people experience a different reality over the Christmas holidays, according to the statement of the head of Catholic Telefonseelsorge Munich „tz online“. Although telephone counseling is well utilized throughout the year, the themes are different during Advent and Christmas. Loneliness is one of the most important reasons for calling. Amongst other things, telephone counselors try to explain to callers that they are not alone in their difficulties and that many people feel lonely over Christmas. Here, reality often differs from the media-mediated picture of the harmonious Christmas party with the family. According to Alexander Fischhold, however, the Christian statement about Christmas at this point is different anyway. The holidays are not to be understood here as a feast of the family, but as a celebration of the community.

Christmas Eve most calls at the telephone counseling
According to the expert, telephone calls are received most directly on Christmas Eve from the late afternoon. Here are really only those who are alone and lonely, because all the others are already busy with the last preparations for Christmas or have already started the celebrations. Their 24-hour service maintains the Telefonseelsorge over the holidays, both with the help of full-time employees as well as volunteers, with Alexander Fischhold according to the Catholic telephone pastoral care during the day two people the phone service and perform at night one. Added to this are the colleagues from the Protestant Telefonseelsorge, stressed the expert. All employees are specially trained, whereby the volunteers are initially trained for one year before starting work, so that they can react appropriately even in difficult situations. In this way, it should also be prevented that the employees get themselves in stressful conversations themselves mental problems. For this reason, the staff of the telephone counseling also monthly talks with professionals who are to help them handle difficult experiences, explained Alexander Fischhold. (Fp)

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Image: Daniel Race