‘Thank you for reminding me that I'm not alone.’
Christmas can be an exciting time, a chance for families and friends to come together and celebrate. While celebrations may look different this year, and festivities are more likely to be held on video calls than in person, it’s worth remembering that not everyone has a support network they can celebrate with, and those that do can still often feel isolated and alone.
Last December, we took more than 21,000 conversations with around 14,000 texters. Around 1 in 3 of those conversations mentioned feelings of depression and sadness, and almost 1 in 5 mentioned feelings of loneliness and isolation.
While we might associate loneliness with older people, we also see that around 30% of texters who contact us about loneliness are between 18 and 24 years-old.
If you feel lonely, you are not alone. In what has been an incredibly difficult year, for many people, living in lockdown will have exacerbated their loneliness too.