By Bond Robertson 
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In total, the mental health helpline received 116 123 4230 inquiries from 18 to 26 December. This represents an increase of 4.5 percent over the same period last year.
In the same period, there were 2,953 inquiries via chat through Sidetmedord.no / Mentalhelse.no.
There were therefore a total of 7,183 inquiries via chat and phone during this period.
An influx of large numbers of children and youth
The alert phone, aimed at children and young people under the age of 18, also saw a lot of activity at Christmas.
They have both phone and chat, and most people who call use chat.
– There has been a lot of progress. Especially in the evening and at night,” department director Margrethe Oosterhuis tells NTB.
According to Oosterhuis, Alarmtelefonen received up to 50 inquiries during one night.
Topics revolve around everything from suicidal thoughts to conflict with parents and alcohol. They're the same themes we hear about over and over, but intensified at Christmas, she says.
May reduce the risk of depression
In particular, there are many inquiries related to alcohol and drugs.
From Christmas Eve to December 28, the alarm phone received about 130 inquiries.
– Much before and after the red days
Nellie Kongchog is the unit manager at Kors på halsen, a conversation service for children and young people. They have seen a slight increase in the number of inquiries compared to last year. Between 22-26 and December, they received around 260 inquiries.
– In the days leading up to Christmas, a lot revolves around mental health, emotions, suicidal thoughts and self-harm. On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day itself, the main themes are family and domestic situation. “The relationship with the parents, the conflicts at home, the arguments,” Kongchog tells NTB.
Most of them – eight out of ten – communicate via chat. Some call, while somewhat fewer communicate via email.
Traffic was somewhat lower on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but this is normal, according to Kongchog. Since the show is aimed at children and young people, it has a limited target group. The answering service's operating hours are also two hours shorter than usual.
– We see that there is a lot before and after the red days. There are many young people who spend a lot of time with their families and do not have much opportunity to be alone, says Kongchog.
– At the same time, we also see that on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day we can receive inquiries that are more serious, she says.
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