TECHNICAL | 25 WELLBEING | 25
Then one evening, I reached a point where silence felt heavier than words. I called Samaritans. Not because I was falling apart. Not because I needed fixing. But because I needed somewhere I could speak without shrinking my feelings to make them acceptable. The voice on the other end gave me space. No rush. No judgment. Just time. Gentle breathing room. The kind people rarely receive when they spend their lives holding everything for everyone else. That single conversation softened something in me. It helped me breathe again. It steadied the noise in my mind. It reminded me that being listened to is a form of care. In time, I trained as a Samaritans volunteer so that I could offer others the same calm that was once offered to me. I’ve listened to people who sound so much like the professionals who keep payroll flowing. Capable. Efficient. Trusted. Yet quietly overwhelmed. People who carry responsibility like muscle memory and only realise their exhaustion when they finally speak it aloud. One truth appears over and over. The ones who hold others together often feel alone. The ones who cope well still carry hidden weight. The ones nobody worries about sometimes need the most care. Support doesn’t have to be dramatic. It can be a conversation with someone you trust. A message that says, “I feel under pressure.” A quiet moment of honesty. Or, like me once upon a time, a call to Samaritans in the night when the world feels too still to carry alone. There’s no wrong path to being heard. There’s only the first brave moment where you choose not to hold it all by yourself. As winter stretches across the early part of
the new year and the world waits for spring to return, I hope this article feels like warmth on a cold day. Payroll is more than numbers and deadlines. It’s made of people. People with hearts, lives, families, worries, strength and vulnerability. People who deserve rest and compassion, not just responsibility. You matter beyond your accuracy. You matter beyond your output. You matter even when no one notices what you hold. If there comes a day when the weight feels too heavy, when the silence after success feels colder than usual, when your heart
needs space, please remember that there’s always someone who’ll listen. You aren’t meant to carry everything alone. Not through winter. Not through pressure. Not through life. Sometimes the bravest thing a person can do is speak their truth and let someone hold a moment of it with them. And in that simple exchange, healing starts. Samaritans. Confidential, patient, human listening, day and night. Call 116 123 or visit samaritans.org .
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