Need a bit of help.

Hi Rich123 

My name is Chelle and I am one of the online community champs. I hope you don’t mind me coming to chat with you here. Firstly please do not apologise, you are not a nuisance, so please do not think that way. You have been through such a lot, and it is easy to hide your feelings with humour, and although it may of seemed easy enough to cope during the crisis itself, it’s when everything stops and slows down, that is when the emotional impact hits us. 

What worries me the most is that you have said you have dark thoughts and you are straying towards them. Please do speak to someone about that. You can speak to your GP, your specialist nurse, or a friend or family member. You can also call the MacMillan support line and speak to someone there on 0808 808 00 00. They are available from 8am until 8pm so please do call and chat with someone there. 

Hello Rich123,

My name is Lizzie, and I’m part of the team here at Macmillan’s Online Community. My role is to help ensure that the community remains a safe, supportive, and welcoming space for everyone.

I’m so sorry to hear that you’re struggling with such dark thoughts at the moment. As chellesimo mentioned in their reply, there’s absolutely no need to apologise. You are not a nuisance, and reaching out for support is never a burden. In fact, it takes a great deal of courage to speak openly about how you’re feeling, and I’m glad that you did.

It sounds as though you’ve been carrying a lot recently, and I can only imagine how overwhelming that must feel. Please know that you don’t have to face this alone. There are people here who care about what you’re going through, and we’re here to listen and support you whenever you need to reach out.

Please know if you’re ever experiencing dark thoughts and are straying towards them there are crisis helplines available that can offer immediate assistance and support:

• Samaritans have a line you can call at any time, every day of the week. Whatever you're going through, a Samaritan is available to face it with you. You can call them free on 116 123 (they are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year).
• Mind is a UK-based mental health charity, which you can call on 0300 123 3393 or text 86463 for mental health support.

I know chellesimo has already mentioned this in their reply but we would always recommend discussing how you are feeling with your GP or medical team. If you need help and it’s outside of your GP’s opening hours, please call the non-emergency NHS 111 on 111 for England and Scotland. NHS Direct Wales on 0845 46 47 if you are from Wales. If you’re in Northern Ireland, you can find details of an out of hours service here. You can always call 999 in an emergency.

I hope this is helpful for you, but if you need any more assistance or have any questions please do let us know.

Take care.