A person’s mental health can affect those close to them. It can be difficult for a young person if one or more of their parents are struggling.
This might be because they’re worried about them, or because the parent is not able to do the usual stuff they do.
If this is something you’re going through, here is an outline supports and other ways to help.
I’m due to see CAMHs (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service) about my anxiety, depression, self-harm and suicide, I’m scared they’ll do things like take me away from my parents, what should I do? How do I go about it?
Hi there,
First of all, well done for taking the steps to get support. CAMHS services around the country do a great job of supporting young people to mind their mental health. This video will tell you a bit more about CAMHS and what it is for.
As you identify, it can sometimes feel scary when you are going somewhere new for the first time. Therefore, this can make it difficult to open up about what you are feeling. However, be assured that everyone at CAMHS will want to support you as best they can.
There are lots of ways to think about and describe mental health. We all have mental health and when we face various challenges it can be impacted.
We can start to find things difficult and may wonder what to do next. There are many different types of support out there to help us look after mental health. There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach.
Not everyone who experiences challenges with their mental health will need to access a service for support. If something is causing you to feel stressed, talk to a good friend, family member or a trusted adult. This can be enough to get you through.
Whether you broke up with someone, they broke up with you, or the decision was mutual, feelings can be tough. We can feel sadness, loss, guilt, or anger.
Sometimes we can be upset because we’re confused and not sure what happened. Other times it can even be a relief.
It doesn’t matter how long it lasted or how serious it was, it matters what the relationship meant to you. How you felt about that person and how it ended will impact how you react to dealing with breaking up.
‘Consent’ is another word for ‘agreeing to’. We use ‘consent’ a lot when we talk about sex. In that context, consent means both people fully understand and agree to what they’re about to do.
It is really about communication, respect and awareness of the other person.
In this article, we’ll cover what you need to know about consent and sex.
Are you aged 12 to 25 and looking to get one-to-one support with your mental health? If so, your local Jigsaw service can help.
Start the process by calling or emailing your local Jigsaw service yourself. Your parent or guardian, or teacher, doctor, or youth worker can also take that first step, contacting the service for you with your permission.
If you are under 18, Jigsaw requires that an adult consent for you to attend. That means we need to check with your parent or guardian and let them know you want to attend our service.
However, it does not mean we have to tell them why you want to come to Jigsaw. We will discuss what we can keep confidential with you when you come in.
Once you get in touch, a member of staff will ask you for some basic details. If you both decide Jigsaw is the right service for you, they will organise an appointment for you with a Jigsaw Clinician.
If your situation is more complicated, they might arrange for a Jigsaw Clinician to call you back. This will be to discuss things in a bit more detail before deciding on the next steps.
Jigsaw is a mental health service. But more specifically, it is an early intervention service for young people at primary care level.
In the last few years, cyberbullying has become an umbrella term for lots of negative behaviour online.
Essentially cyberbullying is bullying online, and it can take many different forms. Sometimes it is easily recognisable and others not so much.
It can be 24/7 with seemingly nowhere to get away from it. One of the drawbacks of the connectivity in our pockets is we’re always accessible.
Generally, cyberbullying doesn’t happen in isolation. It tends to be a part of traditional bullying. The bully is often someone known to the person on the receiving end of it. This is even if the activity seems to be done anonymously.
Cyberbullying can take obvious forms such as name calling, putting someone down or abusive comments on posts, images or videos. Then there are less obvious forms, only really felt and understood by the person on the receiving end of it.
Mental health is something we all have. It is an essential part of all of us. It includes our thoughts and feelings, how we are getting on with other people and how we manage day-to-day life.
In this article, you will find:
Having good mental health is about feeling positive about ourselves, or sometimes just good enough. It’s about being able to do the things that matter to us. Just as everyone has physical health, everyone also has mental health.
The state of our mental health doesn’t stay constant. It changes, often in response to things that are happening in our life.
If a young person in your life seems to be having a tough time, trust your instinct something isn’t right.
There are plenty of signs to look out for that are good to know. If you want to start a difficult conversation but don’t know where to begin, you are not alone.
Many young people have missed out on a number of opportunities and milestones since the pandemic started. And there can be no question this can impact on everyone’s mood in the family unit.
When a young person is feeling down, stressed out or experiencing anxiety, they may become closed off or defensive. They can find it hard to talk about what is going on. In response to the pandemic and restrictions, they may not know or understand emotions they’re experiencing.
Some things can be challenging to communicate. However, whether able to open up or not, a young person will likely appreciate being offered the opportunity to talk. They will benefit from knowing someone is there to support them when they are ready to accept help.
Finding the right time is important to consider. You need an adequate amount of time available so neither of you feels pressure to reach a quick conclusion. It’s wise to choose a time when you are both free without something to rush off to.
The young person may have a deadline for homework or is distracted by a football game. In this case, it is unlikely they will want to talk. Remember, your priorities may not be the same.
A convenient time to talk may crop up naturally when you are both relaxed and doing something together. However, it may not be that easy to start a tough conversation.
You might have to deliberately make the time. Don’t try to be a mind reader on this. Let the young person know you’d like to spend some time with them and ask when suits them.
Jonathan* is a teenager who was referred to Jigsaw by his GP. Below, Jonathan’s aunt talks about how Jigsaw helped him deal with anxious thoughts and find ways to look after his mental health.
Jonathan’s mother was drinking, and from time to time in hospital with her mental health. His dad was the stable parent in the relationship, but we lost him after a tragic accident. His mother couldn’t help her addiction to alcohol, so she was open to me fostering Jonathan. He came to live with me at the age of seven and his first few years were great, but as he got to puberty things started to slide. It broke my heart when his friends stopped knocking and he started isolating himself.
He’s a really intelligent young fella and likes reading. After our first big conversation about how he was feeling, he left one of his books, The Fault in Our Stars, on the hall landing with a note that said, ‘Read the first page’. He was trying to tell me something, but he hadn’t the words. I knew that something was not right.
One day I got a series of texts from him in school. I could tell that he was anxious. When I collected him that day, he got distressed and spieled off all the things that were upsetting him. I like to take action, so we visited my doctor who referred Jonathan to Jigsaw.
