Geeks Vs Loneliness: the start of your tether
You don't have to wait until things are really bad to ask for help and support. It's worth asking as early as possible...
Hello and welcome to our Geeks Vs Loneliness slot, where we take a few minutes just to natter about troubles and difficulties that some of us face. As always, we don’t claim to have magic wands or anything so sophisticated. Rather that we hope to just have a tip or two that may be of some use.
Across the series so far, we’ve talked about a variety of things, some of which relate to those of us in very dark places. But what if you’re not? What if you’re feeling that something’s just a little off, or not quite right?
Our simple suggestion: talk to someone. And talk to them soon.
It’s one of the great misconceptions of support lines, of friends, and of the many brilliant organisations we’ve been proud to work with and support as part of Geeks Vs Loneliness. That they’re there for you when things are really bad. The truth? They’re there for you when things aren’t too bad as well. They’re there for you when you’re at the start of your tether, as well as at the end of it.
We’ve spoken to people, for instance, who have told us that they don’t like to trouble, say, the Samaritans, because there are other people who may need them more. Yet as the Samaritans – and many other organisations – will tell you, they’d be delighted to be able to help before a small problem becomes a big one. To help you, for want of a better phrase, nip something in the bud.
We’ve talked before about how people put off getting help because there are usually people worse off in the world. That’s true. But it doesn’t mean that you don’t deserve or need help too. As the analogy goes, just because you see someone in the hospital waiting room with a broken leg, it doesn’t mean your broken finger doesn’t hurt too.
A simple piece of advice, then. Talk to people as early as you can, or are comfortable doing. Be it a friend, an organisation, a post in the comments below. Just please try and communicate. May the year ahead be a good one for you, and we’ll be running Geeks Vs Loneliness every Friday, all year, as part of that. Thanks, as always, for reading.
Oh, and one PS. We were contacted by a reader in Toronto over Christmas, who was wondering about where to find help and support there. We don’t know the area well. He’s tried CAMH, but if anyone can suggest other things to do, please drop them here and we’ll send them his way.
Many thanks.
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