Helplines Awareness Day 2026: TNA UK Helpline Volunteers Supporting People With TN and Facial Pain Deserve National Recognition
By Aneeta Prem | London, UK | 23 February 2026
Today, 23 February 2026, as the UK marks Helplines Awareness Day, I want to recognise the trained volunteers behind the TNA UK helpline who support people living with trigeminal neuralgia (TN) and facial pain (FP).
For many callers, this is not a routine support line. Instead, it is a lifeline.
TNA UK supports people affected by conditions that can be severe, relentless and deeply isolating. Trigeminal neuralgia is widely recognised as one of the most painful conditions in medicine. Consequently, people contact us when they feel frightened, exhausted, newly diagnosed, misdiagnosed, or unable to cope after months or years of pain.
So, on a national day of recognition for helplines, it is right to say clearly what this team does and why it matters.
The TNA UK helpline is more than just information
From the outside, a specialist helpline can look simple. A caller reaches out, a volunteer responds, and practical guidance follows.
In real life, however, the impact can be profound.
The TNA UK helpline gives people something many have been missing for far too long: informed support, careful listening and reassurance from people who understand the reality of trigeminal neuralgia and facial pain.
Our volunteers are trained, compassionate and grounded. In addition, many bring lived experience of TN or facial pain. That matters because callers are often trying to explain a condition that is invisible to others but devastating to live with.
At that point, callers need to feel heard properly. They need calm rather than panic. They also need practical support.
What people tell us after they call
The value of a helpline is best understood in the words of the people who use it.
Over time, callers have told us the helpline “stopped me thinking about ending it all.”
Others have said, “I am not alone.”
Some have simply told us, “They understand.”
Most strikingly, one of the shortest descriptions is often the strongest: “A lifesaver.”
These are not slogans. Rather, they show what severe pain and isolation can do, and what compassionate support can do in response.
For some people, the call is about information. For others, the call helps interrupt despair. Therefore, helpline work must be taken seriously.
Families and carers need support too
We also hear from families and carers who are trying to help someone they love while navigating fear and confusion.
For example, one husband described how his wife developed trigeminal neuralgia and they could not get the help they needed. They turned to online searches, found frightening language, including references to the so-called “suicide disease”, and became terrified. After speaking to the helpline, they felt reassured, less alone and clearer about what to do next.
This is a critical part of what the TNA UK helpline does.
When a family is panicking, reassurance is not a luxury. It is essential.
Free support, including for non-members
This point is important, and it is worth stating plainly.
You do not have to be a member to contact the TNA UK helpline. It is free to use.
That matters because people often reach out at the point of crisis, confusion or fear. By removing barriers, we make it easier for people to seek support when they need it most.
The skill behind the voice on the line
Helpline work is skilled work.
It requires training, emotional intelligence, consistency, judgement and care. It also requires the ability to listen well, support without overwhelming, and respond to distress in a calm and practical way.
Our volunteers bring dignity and humanity to every call. In many cases, they support people they may never meet at moments those callers will never forget.
A public thank you to our TNA UK helpline volunteers
On Helplines Awareness Day 2026, I want to thank every volunteer and team member involved in the TNA UK helpline.
Thank you for answering difficult calls and for supporting people in pain.
Thank you for helping families who feel lost and for bringing lived experience, compassion and clarity to this work.
Above all, thank you for reminding callers that they are believed and that they are not alone.
Your work is not always visible, yet it is vital. More importantly, it changes lives.
If you are living with TN or facial pain today
If you are living with trigeminal neuralgia or facial pain and feel overwhelmed, please know this.
Your pain is real, and your experience matters.
You are not alone, and support is available.
If you need help, you can reach out.