If you think your situation isn't bad enough to ring a helpline, please read this:

[Tortoiseonthehalfshell]

I've been meaning to post this link for ages. It's a guest post about what to expect when you ring a helpline, with comments and information about various helplines in the UK, US and Australia. It's a really useful little resource if you're feeling nervous about what actually happens when you ring a helpline - rape crisis, or Womens' Aid, or Samaritans, or whoever.

But the thing that stood out to me was this, from the original post:

"If you?re a ?my situation can?t possibly be bad enough to merit a call to a HOTLINE, that?s only for REALLY SERIOUS EMERGENCY situations which is definitely not what I have? kind of a creature, I want to reach out to you and say? no. That?s seriously not how it works. There is no Minimum Trauma Height for this ride. I have never in my entire time on the phones begrudged a call for not meeting the required awfulness quotient. I very strongly believe that everyone deserves to be able to have a conversation about something that?s bothering them, and to be able do so safely, on their terms, and without repercussions. Regardless of what your situation is and whether you consider it to be That Bad or not."

And this, from one of the comments:

"Something else to keep in mind before you don?t-call: many hotlines are funded by grants and have to demonstrate that there?s a need for the service. If you can?t demonstrate a need (usually by keeping ANONYMOUS records (3-1-2013 ? received 74 calls, 23 from males, 33 from X, 48 from Y, etc? names / identifying information don?t go into those kinds of records), funding can get cut.

So by calling a hotline when YOU need one, you?re keeping them open for future callers. By getting help for yourself, you?re also helping other people."

(I have no affiliation with the above blog, by the way. I just see a lot of posters around here worried that they're taking up valuable time needed by someone in really dire circumstances, and reluctant to call anyone)

Seconded, tortoise. When my marriage ended many years ago, I rang the Samaritans several times - not because I was anywhere near suicidal, but because I just needed to talk, weep, vent to a sympathetic kindly human being. They were lovely, I was glad they were there, and after a while I stopped needing to call them.

That is really interesting and I hope the message about funding gets out to as many people as possible.
I rang the Samaritans one night during the very worst of my DV situation. I felt too that I shouldnt really be ringing but the support I got was superb.