The beginning of the year is a time when we assess our lives, dwelling on the good and the bad, and planning changes.

For many, this period of reflection leaves us with the so-called January blues – indeed January is reputedly the most depressing month of the year – but for others the impact goes much deeper, resulting in depression and, in some cases, suicidal thoughts.

Offering a listening ear, volunteers with Samaritans are at the end of a phone line or available in person, to help.

“We tend to get more calls at this time of year,” says Austin Duffy, spokesman for the Bradford branch of the national charity, who has worked as a volunteer for the past 15 years.

“The aftermath of Christmas and New Year is when we start to become busier. Now is the time when people feel down – Christmas is over and worries take over and everything starts to pile up.

“If you are on your own, you have got through the festive period, and now it’s January and things are still miserable. It is about carrying on.”

Though the focus in the media might be on post-Christmas financial worries, and issues surrounding the flagging economy such as redundancy and unemployment, Austin stresses that other problems account for as many calls.

“There are relationship worries, illness, bereavement, loneliness, isolation, and we are seeing a growing number of calls about changes in the benefit system, with people concerned they are going to lose their benefit.”

He adds: “We also have calls relating to confusion over sexuality, and bullying.”

On average the Manningham-based centre receives more than 2,000 calls every month, a number that has remained fairly static over the past few years, and reflects national figures.

In Bradford, one noticeable change observed by volunteers has been the higher number of callers expressing suicidal thoughts. This has risen from 20 per cent for several years up to 2011, to 24 per cent last year.

Although the reason for this is not clear, Austin says a lack or hope and high expectations contribute. “Things pile up and people feel there is no way out.”

Volunteers – of which there are 60 in Bradford – never give advice. “We allow people to talk through their feelings, and they come with a solution themselves. Talking things through in a completely anonymous way often helps people to come up with a solution – they can see a way out.

“When you are thinking and worrying about something, it becomes a whirl in your mind. Talking about it helps to put it in some sort of order.”

One of the more vulnerable groups of people continues to be men middle-aged men. On average, across the country, around 3,000 middle-aged men take their own lives, and men from low socio-economic backgrounds, living in deprived areas, are ten times more likely to die by suicide than men from high socio-economic backgrounds, living in more affluent areas.

The Samaritans campaign ‘We’re in your Corner’ is researching why this group is at increased risk, and is encouraging them to seek help.

The charity is also working with Network Rail to reduce the number of suicides on the railways. Young men are also among vulnerable groups.

In Bradford, the proportion of Asian males calling is low, and the service would like to encourage members of that community who needs to talk to us to call before problems reach crisis point.

This year, the centre will receive a greater number of calls, due to change in the national telephone system. Up to now, if a branch is unavailable, the call will be redirected to another within the area, or, if no-one is available, may go unanswered.

“This has not happened in Bradford as we have good coverage. The difficulty is we have an imbalance across the UK, with a large population in the south but fewer branches,” Austin explains. “The larger branches are all based in northern conurbations, including Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield and Newcastle.

From spring, calls will be redirected not to branches but to individual volunteers.

“So instead of having around 200 lines for redirected calls, there will be around 500. It will be a far better system and will mean we will be a lot busier, with more calls from out of the area.”

Volunteers, who also see people face-to-face, are “desperately needed” says Austin. “We provide training, and the work is very rewarding. It changes your outlook on life.”

For more information on volunteering, ring (01274) 547547, samaritans.org.