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Today Relate revealed that mental health issues are increasing in young people.  74% of the 13 to 18 year olds surveyed said they felt stressed at least sometimes over the last month, with nearly a third saying they they felt stressed often or all the time.

 

Being a teenage is hard.  Adrift on a sea of hormones between child and adult hood.  Desperately trying to find yourself, wanting to fit it, wanting to stand out, 1st loves, exams, your future.  There is a lot to be stressed about. Today there are the added stresses of mounting youth unemployment and cyberbullying in this age of social media.

There were many many issues that effected me as a teenager. My dad was ill and we lost our home in the recession.  My sister had been abused by a family friend which came to light.  And all that came on top of all the other shit we had to deal with such as bitchy girls, exams and desperately wanting a boyfriend. 

Despite having friends and family around me I had black days and felt like I had no one to talk to. I cried a lot without being able to articulate what was wrong. I bottled things up, trying deal with it on my own. I craved normality. 

It took me until the age of 31 before I had counselling and realised that 'normal' does not exist.  Counselling was the best thing I ever did.  It gave me head space and helped me unravel my jumble of thoughts and feelings.  It made me confront many things I hadn't been able to deal with previously.  It is something I would recommend to everyone. 

I had no idea that Relate offered counselling for young people, I had thought that they purely did marriage counselling.  I think that it is amazing that this facility is there to help teenagers who need someone to talk to, to be heard and get some help.  I applaud them.  I wish I there had been something like this for me when I was younger.

 Advice for parents 

 Advice for young people