Ask Sam letter

Hello there,

Thank you for taking the time to write to me.

Most people have negative thoughts now and again but it sounds as though for you they are always there. It can be difficult to stay positive sometimes. It will be different for everyone, but sometimes it can help to try and fill as much time as possible doing stuff that you enjoy. When you don’t have anything to do, it can help to try and keep distracted as much as possible. It can be worthwhile taking a bit of time to think about the things you like doing and finding ways to fit them into your life, especially at those times when negative thoughts are hard to deal with.

Some young people find that listening to or writing out the lyrics of their favourite upbeat song over and over can lift their mood as the words start to rub off on them. Another thing that sometimes works is to say a really good positive phrase every morning as soon as you wake up - you can decide for yourself what this could be. You don't have to say it out loud, but you can think it to yourself. You can also say it as many times as you want during the day, perhaps at times when things become more difficult for you. It is important to try to replace the negative thoughts with more positive ones, and for many people this happens gradually.

You could also take a look at our feelings and emotions pages - hopefully you might find useful.

Remember you can use ChildLine to distract you at any time by contacting and talking to a counsellor using the 1-2-1 chat service or by calling the freephone number on 0800 1111. The counsellors are there to listen and you can talk to them about anything at all. Maybe you could use them to explore what sort of stuff is going on in your life and see if they can suggest some options to help you to cope better.

Take care,

Sam