Paula Dennan

Support my 24-Hour Challenge for Samaritans!

I am taking part in the 24-hour Taylor Swift listening marathon to raise money for Samaritans on Samaritans Awareness Day, Thursday, July 24th. Samaritans is a charity close to my heart as someone who has called their helpline for support and as a person who has lost a loved one to suicide. My Dad died by suicide in 2019. 

If you have a few euros to spare, I would appreciate your sponsorship.

Why I am supporting Samaritans

I’ve lived with periods of depression and anxiety since my teens, before being diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2016. A diagnosis that explained why the treatments I had previously tried for depression and anxiety didn’t work; we weren’t treating the correct mental illness. If you’ve followed me online or have been reading my writing for a while, you might remember the fact that I accidentally live-tweeted my way through an undiagnosed bipolar episode. While I didn’t realise what was happening and wouldn’t fully understand it until I received the bipolar diagnosis four years later, I phoned Samaritans for support multiple times because I knew something was off and needed someone to talk about it with. 

I know Samaritans do vital work in supporting people who are struggling to cope – whatever the individual reason – living with a mental health condition, or experiencing suicidal ideation, because I am someone who received their support. 

Where your money goes

Every donation, regardless of the amount, helps ensure that Samaritans continue doing the vital work of supporting people 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Here is a small example of how your donations support Samaritans' work.

• €10 helps cover the cost of a call to Samaritans’ helpline.

• €30 helps Samaritans cover the costs of training, supporting and mentoring a listening volunteer.

• €156 helps Samaritans cover the costs of recruiting and training a new listening volunteer to answer calls from people needing support.

Source: Donating to Samaritans – FAQs 

Will I listen to Taylor Swift for 24 hours? 

The short answer is yes. The longer answer is that sticking to an evening routine and getting enough sleep is central to managing my bipolar disorder, so I am splitting my listening across two days rather than listening for 24 hours straight. I’ll be listening to Taylor Swift for 12 hours on Thursday, July 24th and Friday, July 25th. 

I will be updating my progress on Thursday and Friday on Instagram stories. If you wish to follow along, you can follow me at @pauladennan. Don’t worry if you’re not a Taylor Swift fan, I’ll be checking in over the two days rather than live-streaming my Swiftie playlists! 

In love and solidarity, 

Paula