Loneliness - Telephone counseling in times of crisis: over one million contacts
As the year drew to a close, more than one million people once again contacted the telephone counseling service with their worries, needs and fears. The war in the Middle East and Ukraine, loneliness and depressive moods often triggered the calls, as Ludger Storch, Chairman of the nationwide telephone counseling working group on statistics, explained.
There is not yet a detailed final evaluation for 2023, but the number of contacts will be in the same order of magnitude as in the previous year with around 1.2 million calls. More than a quarter of the calls - around 27 percent - are made in North Rhine-Westphalia, said Storch, who is also the head of the Bochum telephone counseling service.
In addition to calls, anonymous contact is also possible via chat or email. In recent years, there have been well over 30,000 chats and well over 41,000 emails exchanged. Over 7,700 volunteers work for the telephone counseling service across Germany.
According to Storch, 2023 was another year marked by crises, which "affected the feeling of life in different crisis situations". "The war in Ukraine and the war in the Middle East have left many people worried and anxious." The consequences of the coronavirus pandemic are still reverberating, as is particularly evident in social contacts and frequent social anxiety. The price increases have also often left their mark on everyday life, Storch told the German Press Agency.
Loneliness was still the number one topic on the phone, with more than one in five callers talking about it. Fears and depressive moods are very frequently discussed. Suicidal thoughts are also mentioned in many contacts. A particularly large number of people in the 30 to 69 age group are represented on the telephone, while the age structure tends to be somewhat younger in chat and email.
According to an initial preliminary assessment, the number of counseling sessions at Nummer gegen Kummer, which covers the target groups of children, young people and parents, also remained at the high level of 2022 (around 121,500 counseling sessions). The Ukraine helpline for people who have fled the war continues to be in high demand.
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- Despite being located in North Rhine-Westphalia, the telephone counseling service in Bochum receives calls from all over Germany, with over 27% of those calls coming from the region.
- The crisis year of 2023 saw a significant increase in people reaching out for telephone counseling, particularly amid concerns over the war in Ukraine and the Middle East.
- During the Turn of the year, the telephone counseling service noticed a spike in calls, with loneliness and depressive moods being the most common reasons for seeking help.
- The social consequences of the coronavirus pandemic and price increases have exacerbated feelings of loneliness and anxiety, resulting in a high demand for telephone counseling in Germany.
- In a crisis year like 2023, Ukraine, as a country in conflict, has not only left many people worried but has also resulted in a high number of calls to the Ukraine helpline for those who have fled the war.
Source: www.stern.de
