I am a 15 year old male who has not had anything good come out of life , my brother went prison , my mum Kicked my dad out a few years ago and now everything is going downhill. I try to block it all by taking drugs , I think i suffer with depression and right now i just want to leave home. Is there any chance i could at my age ? whenever im at home i get severe depression but as soon as i get away from home my life looks good. What shall i do?
Sam
Hi there,
When there are a lot of difficult things going on in life over a long period of time it can really make us feel low and want to find ways to change the situation or block it out.
When people who are important to us go out of our lives that can leave us with what feels like a big hole to fill and be hard to come to terms with, but sometimes talking that through over time can help.
Lots of people can turn to drugs when theyre going through a really difficult time to block out those hurt feelings but unfortunately it doesnt help to get the situation to change. It can also be really dangerous, addictive and the after affects can actually make people feel even more down. There is an organisation called Talk To Frank which can give more information about drugs, their impacts and possible support.
A doctor would also be a good person to consider talking to about depressed feelings, as they would be the people who could give a diagnosis and look at what support might be helpful.
Sometimes talking to people about the things that get you down can help to get some of those feelings off your chest. This can help you to find options to get things to change for the better, particularly if youre feeling stuck. Maybe have a think about whether there is an adult in your life who you trust and could talk to about how difficult youre finding things.
It can be really difficult to leave home before you are 16, as legally you need to be in the care of a parent or guardian. Social services could look into whether there might be somewhere better for a young person to be living if they feel unsafe at home or are not being looked after properly. They can also work with families to see if there is a way things at home could be changed for the better.
We have more information about the law around leaving home that you might like to take a look at.
If leaving home isnt a possibility right now it could be helpful to think about whether anything could be done to make it feel like a nicer place to be. This could be something that a ChildLine counsellor could help you think through.
It can be hard at times to see a way to get things to change for the better, but it doesnt have to be something that you need to do alone.
Take care, Sam
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