Pat's Answer

Hello, you are very welcome to Ask Pat.   

Thank you for reaching out to us and telling us what is going on for yourself and your mam. You are very brave in opening up about your thoughts and feelings. 

You are saying that you and you mam argue a lot. You mention your mam has Graves disease which causes a lot of stress for her and in turn this can make life difficult for you both. You also say that you have thoughts about wanting to die, feeling sad and crying a lot so much so you are finding it hard to stop at times. You say your mum has said some cruel things to you.   

We are sorry that you are going through such a difficult time. It is understandable that you feel as if you do not know what to do. It sounds like you feel overwhelmed, and we are very concerned for you having thoughts about wanting to die a lot of the time. We are also concerned over how your mam treats you and how she speaks to you.   

You have the right to life and to feel safe and happy. You also have the right to not be hurt in any way by words or hands or feet. You have the right to seek help and support about how you are feeling and the thoughts you are experiencing. Have you spoken to anybody about your suicidal thoughts? If you feel that you cannot talk to anyone at home, do you have another adult in your life that you trust and can talk to? This adult can be an aunt, uncle, teacher, or a school counsellor. It is your parents and other adults around you, responsibilities to make sure you get the help and supports you need and deserve. You also have a right to professional help, like talking to your doctor or to a counsellor, to share your feelings and thoughts about suicide. You have the right to be listened to and to be heard. It is important for your own mental well-being that you get this help and support.  

Here are some organisations that might be of help to:  www.jigsaw.ie; www.yourmentalhealth.ie; www.spunout.ie  www.aware.ie. These services may help you understand what is going on for you or can offer you direction in how to avail of other supports. The Childline website has some articles too which you may like to look at www.childline.ie/how-i-feel/ and www.childline.ie/home-and-families/ . It sounds like your mam also needs help and support. Talking to your doctor will help to offer her direction to supports that are available for her. 

Childline is here for you whenever you would like to talk or chat, and we really would love to listen to you. You are welcome to talk to Childline by phone on 1800 66 66 66, by text on 50101 or through web chat on www.childline.ie. These services are open 24-hours a day, every day and are free and confidential. It is your space to talk about your home life, or you may prefer to talk about something else. The choice is yours.  

We hope that you find some of the above supports helpful. Remember we in Childline are always here to listen and hear you. Thank you for reaching out and describing what is going on for you.  

Take care of yourself. We hope to hear from you soon,  

Pat