does anyone out there volunteer for the samaritans and if so what is it like? Rewarding, stressful?

Answer 1

i used to work as a samaritan on the phone and drop in center.its a worthwhile cause and i have spoken to many a person with silly little things on their mind,but i have also spoken to people that are in need of urgent help,this can become really stressful as you dont know what this person will do to themselves.
if your good at listening and non-judgemental then you would make a good listener(samaritan).
you need to beable to switch off everytime you finish your shift and relax,this was my down fall i couldnt stop thinking about certain people who had called and this brought too much stress into my life,so i decided to give up..hope this helped.

Answer 2

My boyfriend does, he's been doing it about 5 years. It's both, sometimes he can have a really traumatic call, but all the samaritans report to a supervisor at the end of their shift and talk about the calls they've had and are asked if they need to speak to someone to get it off their chest.
But he says that even the hard calls are rewarding so if it's something you're thinking about, go down and talk to your local one, it really is a worthwhile thing to do.
Good Luck :-)

Answer 3

That would depend on what sort of person you are, I looked into it years ago only it was not for me as I would get emotionally involved and upset. Only for those who can do it yes very rewarding