PRESS RELEASE
Cheltenham Samaritans supports students worried about exam results.
18 August 2009
Stress about exams and exam results is one of the top reasons young people contact Cheltenham Samaritans and the emotional support charity is here to listen in confidence 24 hours a day to students waiting with bated breath for exam results over the next few days.
Samaritans offers 24 hour support to anyone who is distressed but feels unable to talk to family, teachers or friends.
Hip hop group N-Dubz front girl Tulisa, a Samaritans supporter, said: "Try
not to put too much pressure on yourself; everyone is different and not
everyone is going to get top grades in their exams. There are so
many options out there for people - a variety of college courses to suit
people with different academic abilities and career aspirations. I found
school really difficult as I suffered depression as teenager but then I
found my ambition was singing and realised it was something I could be good
at so I worked hard and focused on that."
The build up to exam results can be a time filled with tension as young people contemplate their futures. Panic, anxiety, fear, guilt and despair are just some of the emotions that might be running through the minds of students. Managing these feelings can seem impossible, especially without the emotional release of having someone to talk and offload to.
Graham Tandy, spokesperson for Cheltenham Samaritans, said: "Society
needs to move away
from this fixation with exam results being the single most important factor
in determining a young person's future success. Everyone has different skills
and gifts and young people need to be reassured that there are a variety
of different options available to them in life. As usual volunteers from
the Cheltenham branch will be on hand at UCAS to support students who are
unable to cope with the news of their results. Anybody in the Cheltenham
area, who is distressed but feels unable to talk to family, teachers or
friends, can call us on 01242 515777 at any time or visit us in Back Albert
Place between 8am and 10pm"
"It is also important that young people have the knowledge to identify potential signs of stress in themselves, so that they can take steps to improve their emotional health and seek support or help others to access it if they need it."
Samaritans has recently produced an online emotional health resource to help young people spot signs of stress in themselves and their friends. It offers guidance on how they can tell someone if they are struggling emotionally, how they can approach friends who they are worried about and things they can do to try and maintain good emotional health. This resource can be downloaded on the Cheltenham Samaritans' website:
http://www.cheltenhamsamaritans.org/assets/docs/emotionalhealth.pdf
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Notes to editors
It is the aim of Samaritans to make emotional health a mainstream issue. Samaritans' vision is for a society where fewer people die by suicide because people are able to share feelings of emotional distress openly without fear of being judged. Samaritans believes that offering people the opportunity to be listened to in confidence, and accepted without prejudice, can alleviate despair and suicidal feelings.
Samaritans is a registered charity, founded in 1953, which offers 24-hour
confidential emotional support to anyone in emotional distress. The service
is offered by 16,800 trained volunteers and is entirely
dependent on voluntary support. Across the UK, you can call Samaritans on
08457 90 90 90 (1850 60 90 90 in the Republic of Ireland) email jo@samaritans.org,
write to Samaritans at Chris, PO Box 9090, Stirling, FK8 2SA, or if you
are deaf or hard of hearing use the single national minicom number 08457
90 91 92. Log on to www.samaritans.org for more information. Calls from
BT will be charged at up to 4 pence per minute at all times. A call set-up
fee of 3 pence per minute applies to calls
from residential lines. Mobile and other providers' charges may vary.
For further information about this press release or to learn more about Cheltenham Samaritans please contact Graham Tandy, Publicity Officer, Cheltenham Samaritans, Victoria House, Back Albert Place, Cheltenham, GL52 2HN (Phone: 07777 683 448 or email: publicity@cheltenhamsamaritans.org)