Pat's Answer

Hello, you are so welcome to Ask Pat.  

You are very brave, thank you for trusting us with your thoughts and feelings, and with what is going on for you. You do not need to be sorry for contacting us. 

You think you might have anxiety and OCD, and you have been feeling this way for a long time. You have told us that you get stressed a lot which causes you to have a type of anxiety attack. You say that you must carry out rituals to relieve your anxiety, as you feel that if you do not carry these out, then bad things will happen. You say you have a tic and get weird shivers, and you pull your neck to the side. Do you think this is something you would be able to talk to your doctor about? You have a right to seek professional help.  

It is understandable that you are feeling very stressed about school and cannot concentrate on schoolwork or other things, as well as not being able to sleep. It sounds like you have a lot going on for you. You are taking the brave steps in reaching out and seeking help. 

It is important for your own mental wellbeing that you get the help and support that you deserve. We are concerned to hear you are experiencing anxiety attacks. You sound very mature in not wanting to self-diagnose, and it is important that you get a professional to make that diagnosis for you. You have the right to that support, and to feel safe and be happy. You have the right to talk about your thoughts and feelings and be listened to. Have you spoken to anyone in your family or another adult about how you are feeling? This adult could be a parent, guardian, teacher, friend, GP, or school counsellor. It is the responsibilities of these adults in your life to make sure that you get help and support when you need it. We know though, that sometimes it might be difficult to share how we are feeling with those nearest to us.  

There are organisations that may help you and offer support to you about your thoughts and feelings. www.yourmentalhealth.ie is one of those. You might like to look at their website to gain information about the supports available to you. The Childline website also has some articles which you may like to look at on www.childline.ie/how-i-feel    

If you feel that you cannot talk to anyone around you just yet, Childline would really love to listen to you. You are welcome to talk to Childline by phone on 1800 66 66 66 or by text to 50101 or through our web chat on www.childline.ie. Childline is here for you anytime and we are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The services are free and confidential. We are non-judgemental, and we will not tell you what to do. We can help you explore what options may be available to you.  

Thank you for reaching out to us. We are here to listen, and we are here for you whenever you would like to chat. 

Take care of yourself, 

Pat