For Children & Young People

We all experience some form of anxiety at different points in our lives. It is a natural response to stressful situations – our body’s alarm system to tell us something is not right. When this alarm goes off, we may experience unpleasant sensations in our body such as our hearts beating faster, stomach aches/feeling sick or shaking.

However, some of us experience more ‘false alarms’ than others: we feel worried, panicked or afraid in situations where there is no real danger. When this happens regularly, it can have a negative impact on our friendships, hobbies, school work and home life. There are many different types of anxiety.

Below are some of the most common:

• School: worries about returning to school • Social anxiety: worries about interacting with others • Separation anxiety: worries about being away from home or family • Phobias: fears of specific things or situations that are not actually dangerous • Generalised anxiety: constant worries about many things

The links below have some more information about anxiety and some tips and strategies you can try to help manage your worries

The Mix – Anxiety
Young Minds – Anxiety

Most of us will be familiar with the most common feelings of panic:
• Racing heart
• Short of breath
• Shaking
• Nausea
• Feeling dizzy/lightheaded
We experience these during moments of anxiety or stress (and sometimes even excitement!) Panic becomes a problem when these symptoms occur regularly and for no apparent reason. Panic attacks usually last between 5 and 20 minutes and can be really scary – we might feel like we are going to be sick, collapse or even die. Once we have experienced this, we might start to avoid situations due to worries about having a panic attack.

However, it’s important to remember that no matter how frightening they are, panic attacks are not dangerous. Your body actually thinks it is being helpful and is just trying to prepare you for a danger that does not actually exist (it’s a false alarm).

The links below have some helpful information about panic attacks
Childline – panic
Anxiety Canada – What is a panic attack?

Life has its ups and downs, but if we are feeling low or hopeless for a long period of time, it might be a sign that we need support. Low mood or depression is more than feeling sad. It can make us lose interest in things and think negative thoughts about ourselves as well as affecting our sleep, appetite, energy levels and ability to concentrate. With such a range of symptoms, you might think it would be easier to spot, but low mood can be very sneaky – for many people, there is no apparent reason why they feel this way.

Persistent low mood is exhausting and can negatively impact our relationships, school work and general sense of wellbeing. Sharing how you feel with someone might seem scary, but it’s one of the most helpful things you can do.

The links below have some helpful information and advice about low mood

Childline – Low Mood
The Mix – Low Mood

Many people experience some form of low self-esteem but for some of us, it might be having a significant impact on our lives. If you have low self-esteem, you are likely to hold negative views about yourself and your abilities, lack confidence and spend a lot

Here’s the thing though: you are a good, capable and likeable person.

The links below have some useful information about self-esteem to help you understand why you might feel this way and give you some ideas about how to tackle this.

The Mix – Confidence & Self Esteem l

Sometimes it can be easy to forget that anger is a healthy, normal emotion. We all experience it and it and sometimes we just need to get it out. However, some young people struggle to control their anger which can cause difficulties at home, school and with friends. Feeling like this can be frightening and frustrating for both the person experiencing it and those around them. It is important to keep in mind that anger is often the result of something else that might be going on.

The links below have some helpful information and advice about anger.

Young Minds – Anger
Childline – Anger

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a type of anxiety where we have frequent, unpleasant thoughts (obsessions) and engage in certain behaviours or habits in a repetitive way (compulsions). There are lots of myths about OCD symptoms: it is not just liking things to be clean or organised or any other sort of personality trait – it can actually be quite distressing and frustrating for the people who experience it.

The links below have some helpful information about OCD and how to manage some of the symptoms.

Young Minds – OCD

Our relationships with friends, family and boyfriends/girlfriends can be a wonderful source of support but when things go wrong, the same relationships can be significant stressors and impact our wellbeing.

The following links have a range of information, advice and support
Childline – Friends & Relationships
Relate – Relationship help for children and young people

Self-harm is when you deliberately hurt yourself and we know from working with Young People that self-harm often takes place when you feel unable to cope with your emotions. This may be because of something that has happened to upset you such as an argument or you may simply be feeling low.

Self-harm is sadly a common behaviour and although you may think in the short term that it is helping you … it is not. This is because you are responding to your feelings by hurting yourself rather than learning healthy ways to manage how you feel.

We can help you devise strategies so that you can start to be kinder to yourself and find alternative ways to deal with your feelings. Some of the suggestions might be to place the object you use to self-harm in a place that is difficult for you to reach, going for a walk, listening to music, doing art work or speaking to someone you trust.

Self-harm is not something to be ashamed of and is something that we can help you understand, and support any changes you would like to make.

If you are feeling low or something has happened to upset you, you might find yourself thinking about what life would be like if you were not alive. Thoughts like this that come and go are often described as fleeting … these thoughts do not hang around for too long.

Sometimes the thought is linked to wanting the upset in your life to go away rather than wanting to end your own life. It is important to remember that what feels totally unmanageable today may feel a lot easier in a few days or weeks.

However, if you find you are having these thoughts on a regular basis then it is really important to share how you feel with someone who can support you and to seek help from someone like a parent, teacher or your doctor.

It is very common for young teenagers to have questions about their sexuality from time to time. It is important to know that there is no need to feel under pressure to tell your peers or anyone around you about these thoughts unless you want to.

At Bromley Y if you wish to discuss these thoughts or difficulties you are having, we are only too happy to help and you can rest assured that your feelings will be taken seriously and you will most definitely not be judged.
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