Why do I feel like I am wasting my youth? My entire family has struggled with massive drug and alcohol addiction so I try to stay away from it, but it feels like I’m wasting my youth. I’m so afraid that I’m going to look back at this time in my life and be full of regret.
-Elle
Hi Elle,
Worrying about future regrets can have a big impact on the choices we make in the moment. The fear of regret can make us question even our strongest values.
Hi, today we received our calculated grades and unfortunately I think I won’t be getting into the course that I wanted to. So College might be out of the options. I live with my parents. I’m 18 and I don’t know the first thing about getting a job nor’ what it is that I would like. I don’t think I can just jump into something that I’ll end up hating everyday. I don’t have anywhere to share my thoughts and I don’t want to rely on my parents, because it’s my own life I want to get started. It takes a lot more time, doesn’t it?
-TryAndBeKind
Hi TryAndBeKind,
I am sorry to hear that you didn’t get the grades that you wanted. It sounds like you are both disappointed and confused about your next steps, which is understandable.
I’m worried about going back to school I’m going into leaving cert but I keep getting really spaced out and cant focus on what’s around me. I’m worried that it will happen in class or exams.
-Anonymous
Hi Anonymous,
It’s been a really difficult few months school-wise. It can’t have been easy doing 5th year from home. It’s totally understandable that you’ve been finding it hard to focus on what’s around you. With normal routines out the window, it can be especially hard to concentrate or be productive in your home environment. It’s a space we’d usually use to switch off, but suddenly have to use it to study also.
I decided to take a gap year from starting college because of Covid causing everything to be online. I just feel like a coward who ran away as soon as the going got tough. But I just wanted to connect with people and be in the atmosphere of it all.
I’ve always felt trapped within myself, like I’m the audience watching characters in a scene and I can’t break that barrier. Doing College online only amplified this feelings as I was literally watching a screen.
I’m just afraid I made this choice out of fear. I was doing the course out of fear of not doing it and now I’m not doing the course out of fear of doing it. My family supported my decision and I felt brave for telling them how I felt but a part of me still feels like a coward and a failure and I’m afraid I’m going to waste this year and I’ll regret this decision in the future.
-Cole
Hi Cole,
There are many reasons for delaying the start of your studies or training after school. Making a decision to wait until you can fully engage in the college experience is brave. It sounds like it was one that you and your family put some thought into, so trust yourself.
Based on the ‘Five Ways to Wellbeing‘ report 2008 by the New Economics Foundation (NEF), here are five things you can do daily for your mental health.
The UK Government commissioned the NEF to develop a simple set of evidence-based actions for people to improve their wellbeing. NEF drew on a very broad base of research for their recommendations, from psychological to economic literature.
TV, radio and social media continue to be filled with stories about Covid-19. However, schools, colleges and workplaces are gradually re-opening following advice from the government.
The novelty of time at home has more than likely worn off by now. In fact, there’s a lot of ‘new normal’ talk, but let’s remind ourselves, these are unusual times. It is important to look after both our mental and physical health.
Though there are very different challenges right now.
All of my close friend have been through bad mental health. Some just took time off school to reboot, some to therapists , and some to cahms/st.pats. I’ve been there for all of them throughout the years. First one was age 9 to now. Some are doing good and some are going down the wrong path into drugs. One in particular who I’ve known for my whole life is now known as the ‘popular pretty girl who was in a mental hospital’. She’s now heavy on drugs and can’t go a few days without going out and taking more. I don’t know what to do it’s starting to eat me up inside and now I can see myself going down the same path as the others in terms of mental health.
I was the strong happy funny kind girl who everyone counted on and vented to but now it’s all getting too much and I can’t separate myself because they all need my help but I also can’t continue doing this because I’m slowly losing my mind. I’m going into 6th year now so I want school to be my number one concern but my friends are all good in a bad place and I need to be there for them so I don’t know what to do. I don’t know if I’m making sense there’s so much more to it and my minds going crazy.
I just need advice on how to balance helping my friends , school , social life and my own mental health and prepare myself for 6th year.
-Butterfly
Hi Butterfly,
It’s sounds like you are a really compassionate person and have been there for a lot of your friends over the years. While it is a nice to be able to support others, without a doubt it can take a toll on us. You may have heard the flight attendant on an airplane telling you to ‘look after your own mask first’. This is because, unless we prioritise looking after ourselves, we won’t have the capacity to be there for someone else. Looking after your own mental health is not a luxury, it is a necessity.
Will the coronavirus (COVID-19) affect schools in the east of Ireland near Dublin. I’m fearful that somebody my school can be infected.
I think I’m infected but I don’t know what to do.
Hi there,
There has been a lot of information in the news and on social media about coronavirus. Some of this is true and helpful. However, some of it is exaggerated or just false. Given the amount of coverage, it is understandable that you might feel worried or fearful about coronavirus and its effect on you or those around you.
I’m in final year of my teaching degree, and really afraid that I’ve failed my last placement. It really knocked my confidence because the inspectors were really harsh after lessons that actually went really well. I had the worst panic attacks I’ve ever experienced after those inspections.
On top of the fear of failing and having the repeat another placement next year and not graduating with my friends in September, I’m not even sure that I want to be a teacher anymore because of how terrible the inspectors made me feel about myself.
One of my assignments involves reflecting on that placement, and it brought back up all those feelings of fear and failure. How do I deal with this fear of the possibility that I’ve failed while waiting for results in June, and if I have failed, how do I get over this anxiety around teaching?
-Rewind
Dear Rewind,
Firstly, it’s important to acknowledge all of the hard work and dedication that went into getting to your final year in teaching and doing placements. Regardless of the outcome, your effort and impact on your students is something to recognise.
Eimear, Jigsaw clinician, walks us through a ‘brain drain’ exercise that can help us when we start to overthink.
