children counselling
WHEN SHOULD I REACH OUT FOR HELP FOR MY TROUBLED TEEN?
This is when I should have reached out for some help.
Knowing when to get help for your child can be difficult. At times, the signs and symptoms of mental health problems can be similar to the hormones and growth of being a teenager. It’s not always easy to tell the distinction between ‘normal’ teenage behaviour and when there might be something else going on.
Over a few weeks, I would notice small things, like her becoming withdrawn, dressing differently, getting snappy and all these tiny changes that seemed, to me, perfectly normal.
It wasn't until I received that dreaded call from the school, asking me to come in because there had been an 'incident' with my daughter.
To be honest, my first thought was 'Who did she hurt?' Turn out it was herself. All of her emotions, thoughts and feelings she had been holding in had finally burst out, and she self-harmed, for the second time.
Mental health difficulties will surface differently in everyone. There’s no ‘normal’ and ‘abnormal’, except concerning your own child’s behaviour. As a parent, you have an important viewpoint, you’ve spent years with your child getting to know their patterns of behaviours and emotions. You’re well placed to identify when your child’s own ‘normal’ has shifted. If the shift is influencing your child’s life negatively and they’re not able to perform effectively in daily life, it is time to get help.
Sometimes as a parent, we can not help our children. They may find it hard to open up about how they are feeling, find it difficult to share what is going on in their lives or may simply be fearful about sharing what is going on with YOU.
"Please don't be angry Mum" This was my breaking point, all I could do was sit on the floor in the Deputy's Office, and hold her.
As a parent, you need to trust your instincts, if you think there might be something wrong, it’s best to find out, and get some professional help.
There are various types of help and one way is not necessarily better than another.
Different approaches will work for your child differently. Sometimes it’s a combination of approaches that work best.
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