Pat's Answer

Hello, you are very welcome to Ask Pat, 

Thank you so much for sharing what is going on for you. From what you are saying you are having a bad time at home and you feel that your friends are not there for you now and as a result you are feeling lonely. Things are tough at home for you and you were hoping for support from your friends and that is not happening the way you would like. With all of this going on, it is understandable that you are feeling lonely.

Sharing with us about the relationships at home and with your friends is a great step forward for you. You have the right to talk, be listened to and to get support for all that you are experiencing right now. We are wondering, have you spoken to your friends about what life is like for you at home. If you did not want to tell your group of friends, is there one friend that you are particularly close to, that could support you. Talking to someone really helps. Family relationships and friendships can sometimes be hard and sometimes they can be great and sometimes just ok.  

It sounds like you were depending on these friendships to help you get through what is going on for you at home. Would there be an adult in your life that you trust and feel comfortable to share about your home life. The trusted adult might be someone in your family or they could be a teacher or a youth leader.  Everyone has the right to get help and have someone to chat to about what is going on both at home and with their peers.

There are some articles on the Childline website about families and friendships that you may like to read. You can find them here www.childline.ie/home-and-families/ and here  www.childline.ie/friends/

If you feel that you do not have an adult to chat to, or that you do not want to talk to them just yet, that is ok, how would you feel about contacting Childline? You already have been brilliant in writing to us, how do you think it would feel to chat to us about your home life and your friends. The Childline services are free and are open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. The Childline team will listen to you. We will not judge you or tell you what to do. We can chat about what options are available to you. You can phone us on 1800 66 66 66, or text us at 50101 and there is our webchat service also, which you an access through www.childline.ie.

Remember, you do not have to go through this on your own. There is support for you at Childline when you feel ready to get in touch again.

Take care of yourself,

Pat