Holy moly it’s the #LAUG London’s Admin User Group at Capgemini where Matthew Morris flexes his Punny Skills! 😁 We…
Sometimes underneath fury lies deep sadness and fear. Which is why I stay on the line. Even if I get…
Sometimes the call doesn’t start smoothly. I wonder if it’s a prank call. But I always err on the side…
50 callers waiting. For more than 9 minutes. Just to talk to a Samaritans listening volunteer. I hope they stay…
On my chat shift tonight with Samaritans and it’s always interesting. I think we get a different demographic who prefer…
It’s training day 1 for our fall cohort of new #Samaritans volunteers today. This is a fear that worry a…
“Nope. This person deserves the kidney more than this other person.” 😬 I was helping out at information day for…
We also do chat (with limited opening hours). But… Bet you didn’t know we did letters too. It’s free to…
Someone I know have just told me they are now training to be a listening Samaritan. ❤️ 🥹 We are…
“Why do you do email support?” a new Samaritans volunteer asked me yesterday. Providing emotional support on this communication medium…
Wishing good things for England tonight, but if not – 👇🏻 0808 2000 247 is the Refuge 24-hr number for…
At Samaritans we learn about non-directive language
At Samaritans we learn about non-directive language which makes no assumptions and instead holds a space for a deeper more…
📣 Trigger warning. “I noticed your tattoo.” She flushed slightly and turned her forearm to look at the semicolon tattoo…
“Oh you know, I’m alright. Just taking it one day at a time.” 😕 Is this person doing OK?Or not?Didn’t…
“But what if I say the wrong thing?” The new #Samaritan volunteer asked worriedly. We are in week 3 of…
“I don’t know if I’m going to be good enough.”She twiddled her pen nervously. It’s day 1 of training for…
I train new volunteers for #Samaritans (a UK crisis phoneline).I also train new #Salesforce consultants. How they are different:————————-🍩 One…
About to head off for my nightshift at Samaritans.We get a lot of calls at this time of the night. 🌘…
“I’m devastated and I needed to tell you.” I just had some news this morning. The kind of news that…
Here are some things I’ve learned about grief:🌻 the 5 stages of grief isn’t everyone’s experience🌻 grief will evolve with…
“I’m glad you brought this up. “You’re a senior consultant and you’re expected to bill your 40 hours per week…
“It’s like speaking another language, and I don’t know if I am going to get it!” S said morosely. ☹…
“But I didn’t know what to saaaay!” he was in despair. 😞“You don’t have to say anything, you’re supposed to…
#LifeHack – Success comes down to the ability to pick out the signal from noise. 😶 When looking at information…
🚨🚨Trigger warning 🚨🚨Men are three times more likely to take their own lives compared to women. In yesterday’s training session…
You might want to be an astronaut, but you get travel sickness easily. 🤢You might want to be an Olympic…
Have you heard of Postsecret[dot]com? “PostSecret is an ongoing community mail art project, created by Frank Warren in 2005, in…
T’is not the season to be jolly. Not for everyone. Not for those who are reeling from the loss of…
Why do the birds keep on singing?Why do the stars glow above?Don’t they know it’s the end of the worldIt…
There are someWho stand at the precipice of life and deathWho are one step away from eternal darkness Who decide…
There is a parallel in training consultants and training listeners for a suicide phoneline. 📞 Both require the trainees to…
This exquisite poem pierced my heart. Every week I am on the phone with callers who’ve had enough of life…
“Things have not been great, and I’m not really coping.” Even within the busy hustle of the Moscone West, where #DF23 attendees…
“It will all work out in the end.”“Things can only go up from here.”“This is a ‘test’.”“What doesn’t kill you…”…
“It only takes 10 seconds.” He said quietly. “I wish everyone knew that it only takes 10 seconds to save…
🚩🚩Abuse Trigger warning 🚩🚩 “Why is she still with him when he hits her?” “She must enjoy it, or maybe…
“What if you disagree with them? Or if you don’t like them or what they’re saying or thinking or doing?”…
𝗧𝗶𝗽 𝟯: 𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆*This one is a difficult one for a lot of people. 😐Even for me. As…
How #Salesforce Partners run Kick-ass Discoveries
“How #Salesforce Partners run Kick-ass Discoveries and you can too!” 😁I’m presenting this talk at #AD23 for Albanian Dreamin in beautiful Tirana tomorrow 💃🏻…
You’ll get over it.Don’t worry, you’ll be fine!Look on the bright side, at least you have your health.It could be…
It’s the Easter bank holiday here in the UK. 🐰🐣 While it probably doesn’t hold as much religious meaning as…
“You are SUCH a disappointment.”“I cannot believe that someone of your calibre can produce such SH!T work.”“You can’t even do…
I make these #DonutBraceletsOfHope when I’m on my shift. Every shift, as I’m listening to my callers who are sharing their struggles,…
Depression is an illness. Those who suffer from this debilitating illness may feel unbearable pain in their life, and sometimes…
Holidays are difficult.Especially special days. Today is Mother’s day here in the UK. The lucky ones get to spend the…
“You’re really good at what you do.” He chuckled quietly down the phone. “I guess I’ll go to bed. I’m…
🔺Trigger alert!🔺Prisoners are people too.Some of them have done really really bad things. They are able to call #Samaritans when they are…
Just came off a pretty rough shift. All I can say is, please please look out for people around you.They…
“We can only do what we can, with the resources we have, based on where we are in our own…
🔺Trigger warning. 🔺𝗟𝗶𝗲: 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳𝗶𝘀𝗵. This is absolutely Not True. ❌ Sometimes, people who think about…
I have actively stayed away from any news that involves the monarchy. There is so much toxicity and vitriol in…
#suicideawareness – trigger.
#suicideawareness – trigger. “It’s just a ‘call for help’.”“It’s attention seeking behaviour.” Just two examples of very judgmental and incredibly hurtful…
Do you want to save a life right now?It’s #WorldSuicidePreventionDay. #Samaritans is a UK charity whose vision is to reduce suicides by…
“Tell me about the moments leading up to the call us. Tell me what was going through your mind and…
I’m always very introspective after supporting vulnerable callers on my volunteering shifts with #Samaritans. What does happy smell like?What does angry…
“You’re an evil genius and I would love to be your sidekick!”😈“You’re awesome that’s why you’re my BFF!”“You always help…
*Suicide Trigger alert*Deborah Harvey asked a beautiful question about what to do if you pass someone on a bridge who may…
“What do you do if someone calls and pretends they are taking their life, and you spend hours with them…
Everyone has buttons. 🔴 Are you aware of yours?Do you know what pushes those triggers or buttons?Are you aware of…
I hang out on Quora quite a bit. I find out so many things and answers to so many questions…
“You are transferring out of my team? Ah, perhaps it’s a good idea. You’re not good enough to be here.”…
I want to tell you that I see you. When you call us but you’re too terrified to speak… I…
Nervous. Excited. Worried. Keen. Terrified.Big feelings. The cohort of Samaritans volunteer were feeling a jumble of big emotions at their first training…
Ring Ring Ring“Hello Samaritans, can I help you?”*click* This is called a ‘snap’.It’s when our callers hang up as soon as…
Special days like today can bring a lot of pain to many people. I’ve just finished another shift at Samaritans and am…
What’s your shape? 📐🟥⭕ Does it fit the role you’re going for?Does it fit the idea of what your spouse/significant…
I’ve got a hacking cough and a sniffly nose. 🤧And I’m on another night duty. I’m not fit to be…
Hey, are you OK?I can’t think of a scarier question, especially when you’re feeling vulnerable. If I say I’m OK,…
When you feel overwhelmed with big feelings and dark thoughts, don’t keep it bottled up. These feelings and thoughts will…
Did you know that talking about #suicide can’t make someone want to do it? You cannot plant the seeds in someone’s head.…
I’m buzzing! 🐝It always feels amazing when I help get new Samaritans volunteers into my branch! ☺ We’ve just finished their training,…
It can be much harder to ward off dark thoughts now that the nights are longer. I just finished another…
The new volunteer was very nervous.Who would be at the other end of the line?What kind of call would he…
14 minutes.In 14 minutes, I went through a roller coaster of feelings across the spectrum of human emotions as I…
Some of us draw mind maps. 🕸Some draw elaborate flowers 🌼 and patterns.Some do origami and make little paper swans…
What do you do if you regularly get cussed at, verbally abused and harrassed, or treated badly?Usually, the correct answer…
*Trigger warning* One of the amazing things my charity does in terms of reducing suicide is by providing much needed…
“Why did you do that?”“How come you let that happen?” Judgemental accusation. “Why don’t you do this?”“Why don’t you think…
My heart is exploding with ❤We’ve just kicked off another training for a group of new #Samaritans volunteers. So many generosity in…
“What’s the point of listening if you don’t try to help?” “Getting into the hole? What for? Now you’re both…
Do you judge people?Yes you do.We all do. We are only human.But the crucial thing is, do we let that…
“We need to ask him why he keep saying he is suicidal, is he seeking attention or something?” “No, we…
Will we get more calls tonight?Will someone who is predisposed to raising their fists do so if their team loses?…
Sometimes the heaviest thing to carry is other people’s expectations. Unhappiness = reality – expectations In particular, many are saddled…
Do you know the difference between sympathy and empathy? #Samaritans explain it using a metaphor of how one would interact with…
“I just got laid off.” “Yeah I got laid off last year. It sucked. But then I started a business…
Everyone has a hot button. Mine gets triggered when I take a call and the subject hits close to home,…
I thought my heart would burst when I saw this message earlier! When I started posting about my life as…
People are afraid to approach someone they think is struggling, because What if they’re wrong?What if they say the wrong…
Sometimes it is easier to type than to talk. Tonight, I am on a webchat shift at Duty Station 3.Webchat…
Another night on shift. Apart from my rubbish way of splitting “Listening Ear” over two lines on my scrap paper,…
It’s late at night when I think of our callers, even when I’m not on duty. The #Samaritans hours of need are…
“OK, let’s sit with this problem, together.” How powerful is this statement? It says You’re not alone.I’m here.I’m listening.Talk to…
“I really don’t think I can take it anymore.”Her shoulder slumps. Your heart starts beating very fast and you don’t…
Here’s a tip if you’re worried about what to say when talking to someone who is struggling. It doesn’t matter…
Some people should never ever be allowed to be parents. There – I’ve said it. Those who want to adopt…
When things get quiet, sometimes we have no choice but to deal with our demons. That’s why people overwork, self…
Covid is brutal. I find so many of my friends and colleagues I’ve worked with in India grief stricken, having…
My good friend and fellow volunteer Jasvinder Singh (aka Jazz) is raising money for Samaritans and anyone who knows me, knows how very very…
It was a tough shift tonight. All I can say is – look out for people who might be hurting,…