Dear sam
im worried about lodes and and worried about friendship problems. My only friend is J and I do most things with her. A teacher that helped me alot has left forever now and don't know what to do. Im stuck with a stressy teacher and horrid children surrounding me. Im getting fat to and it's hard not to chew my nails.
thank you
H
Hello H,
Thank you for your letter. It sounds as though you have a number of worries at the moment. It seems as though losing the teacher you used to talk has been really hard for you and that you are missing having an adult that you trust to talk to about these worries. Im really pleased that you decided to write to me about it.
I'm wondering if it may help to make a list of all of the things that are worrying you. Youve talked about your stressy teacher, the children around you being horrid, feeling like you are getting fat, biting your nails, the teacher who has left and worries about friendship. You could add anything else that is on your mind and then maybe speak to a ChildLine counsellor either on the phone 0800 1111 or through the 1-2-1 chat on the website. You could tell the counsellor about the list and choose what you would like to talk about first, then talk about one thing at a time. Sometimes when we think about lots of different worries at once it can all feel a bit much. Thinking about problems one at a time can make it easier to find some ideas for making things better.
There is a Balloon game in Play that I really like and it might help you feel a bit less stressed about things. You write out your worries one at a time and let a balloon carry them away out of sight.
There is also some information on the ChildLine website about Friendship and Self-esteem that you might find helpful.
You might want to try looking at the ChildLine message boards too and see how other young people cope with situations similar to what you are experiencing. Hope that helps.
Take care,
Sam
You can talk privately to a counsellor online or call 0800 1111 for free.
You can ask me about anything you want, there's nothing too big or small. I read every single letter but I can only answer a few each week. My replies are published here on my page.
