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Author: eve

Ask Jigsaw: I can’t stand being in this house

Posted on by eve

I feel I need to get away from my house, I’m 18 and I dont really have the means to go out on my own but I cant stand being in this house I feel as if my family are going to drive me to kill myself if I stay any longer. I dont know what to do and I cant find anyone to talk to who will understand and see through my parents lies.

Hi,

I’m sorry to hear that things are difficult for you at the moment. It is a hard position to be in, and I can imagine you are feeling many different emotions such as frustration, upset and anger. Especially at the moment, we are spending more time our houses, and this can put a strain on family relationships. Perhaps, it can also lead you to feeling somewhat helpless, with a loss of control.

Body image and mental health

Posted on by eve

Body image is the way we feel about how we look. Most of us experience dissatisfaction with how we see our body at different points in our life.

Very few people are 100% confident about their appearance at all times. However, if the way we feel about our body starts to impact what we do in a negative way, we need to address this.

Difficulty with body image affects people of any gender. In today’s society, there’s a focus on physical appearance and the ‘perfect body’ and social media can emphasise this.

Scrolling through Instagram and making comparisons between ourselves and what we see is very common. This can distort our sense of body image, creating unrealistic expectations of how we should look.

Ask Jigsaw: Anxiety before sleeping

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Hi, I just wanted to know if it was normal to have anxiety before sleeping at night as multiple times during the past few weeks I’ve been feeling anxious going to bed and I’m not quite sure what is causing it.

-gracex06

Hi gracex06,

Feeling anxious before sleeping at night is common and you are not alone experiencing this. Often when we are feeling stressed these feelings can surface at night making it difficult to sleep. This can be frustrating especially if you are unsure where this anxiety is coming from.

Worrying about the future

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The future and how we feel about it can make us feel overwhelmed. Either by the amount of choice, or lack of it.

Being worried about the future is not uncommon. Some people have a very clear map of what road they hope to take. Others are less certain.

Few could have predicted the pandemic and how that has affected our immediate future.

When thinking about the future, we may experience a range of emotions including confusion, frustration, anger or sadness.

What you’ll find in this article

Personal story: Living with cancer

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A young person who received a cancer diagnosis has developed a booklet to support teenagers who may be facing the same situation.

They were treated for Hodgkin’s lymphoma when they were 15 years old which was a lonely and worrying time for them. Inspired by what they felt was a lack of educational materials available for young adults living with cancer, and they have created this resource drawing from their own experience.

Ask Jigsaw: Online learning has been so hard

Posted on by eve

I get good grades in school but I can’t bring myself to continue schoolwork at home. Online learning has been so hard and unmotivating and I’ve stopped going to most classes, lying about my internet cutting out or my camera not working or my headphones breaking. I don’t want to do it and I want to be as good as I know I can be if I put my mind to it but I just don’t have the motivation to do anything related to school anymore.

Hi there,

Thank you for reaching out today. It might be helpful to know that you are not on your own with this. Many of the young people we speak with are having a similar experience with online learning and schoolwork.

Ask Jigsaw: I have anxiety

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I’ve had panic attacks since I was about 11 years old and my mom takes no notice and I have lots of anxiety going about my daily life I’m almost positive I have anxiety but because of how anxious I am I’m afraid to bring it up with my mom.

– Justwondering

Hi Justwondering,

Anxiety is a natural emotion that we all experience from time to time. While it can feel uncomfortable, it’s also useful in alerting us to danger. Although we can’t get rid of anxiety completely, we can learn ways to manage it.

An alternative Valentine’s theme for February

Posted on by eve

Let’s face it, the best thing about Valentine’s day is discounted chocolates in shops in the days that follow. No matter what your relationship status, this year has been challenging. 

A lot of people in relationships have found themselves separated by 5km travel restrictions. As for single people, dating has either been put on hold or moved video chat. We can all feel societal pressures to tick certain boxes; meet someone, get married, get a mortgage, have a child. These pressures can often be reinforced by parents whose lives would have followed these sequential events.

Many of us may be feeling the frustrations of having life on hold at the moment. But, remember there are no boxes that need to be ticked or timeframes for certain life events. Whatever our circumstances, we could do without the traditional Valentine’s messaging.

 

Difficult relationship with food

Posted on by eve

There are many things which can affect our relationship with food. As we get older, our tastes can change and our appetite can vary depending on our energy needs.

However, sometimes our relationship with food can become difficult or strained. We may start to feel self-conscious eating in front of others, begin to calorie count or restrict food.

In this article, you will find:

Why would someone restrict food?

There are many reasons for this. It can be a way to feel more in control when things around us feel outside of our control. It can be a way to cope with feelings of stress or anxiety.

Sometimes we can have difficulties with how we see ourselves, or don’t like how we look. This might make us try to change how we eat.

We may try to change our behaviour or our bodies, or attempt to ‘control’ our shape or our weight.