Alex's Answer

Hi there and thank you for contacting Ask Alex.

Firstly can we say how sorry we are to hear that you and your best friend whom you were dating, have broken up. Break-ups are so hard and when we are going through a break-up , it can bring up so many difficult  feelings .You talk about also being at the lowest you have ever been and not wanting to eat, sleep or go to school.

When we go through challenging times like a break-up , it can be so hard to motivate ourselves to engage in our everyday life activities. From your previous question you had spoken about engaging in self harming behaviours  and we had advised seeking out some additional supports . 

We wonder have you sought that extra support since the last time? Would your counsellor be able to support you around manging this difficult period in your life? If you haven’t sought support yet, would you consider reaching out for help to cope with how you’re feeling? Is there an trusted adult in your life that you could speak to about how you are feeling and maybe support you in engaging with additional support. From the previous question to us, we had advised you of some organisations that can support you with your self-harming. If you are 16 or over you can attend your local GP where they can make a referral to the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services ( CAMHS). If you are under 16 years, your guardian will need to accompany you to the GP. Pieta House is another organisation that support young people who are engaging in self harm www.pieta.ie.  

We also spoke about engaging in positive coping strategies to help when we are going through a tough time.  Examples of these strategies can include going for a walk, talking with a friend or trusted adult , journaling etc. Maybe think about setting yourself a small goal each day to engage in one of these activities to help you begin the journey in moving forward 

If ever you need to talk about it some more and you don’t know who to go to, know Childline is here for you. We will listen and support you whenever you need. You can call us at 1800 66 66 66 or use Live Chat on our website www.childline.ie. We are open 24-hours every day, so there will always be somebody waiting to talk or chat with you, any time, for any reason.

Take care, and please give us a call soon,

Alex