Hi everyone, I hope you all are hanging in there during this crazy time.
I was just wondering if anyone knows of any websites where I could talk to a therapist and get some advice without having to worry about a cost as I am a 16 yr old that doesn’t have any money/a job.
I’ve been stressed and I don’t want to add any more worry to my family as they’re under a lot of pressure as well.
I’d hate to bother my friends anymore so because I am almost positive they’re tired of me being a burden to them.
Thanks in advance and much love to all of you.
It’s really positive to seek for some sustainable help! Especially if you’ve been very stressed recently. But also: you wouldn’t be a bother if you decide to reach out. It’s okay to reach out and ask for help. There’s nothing wrong with it, nothing to be ashamed of. It’s very kind of you that you don’t want to worry your family, but somehow their reaction would be yours. And when we’re worried for someone, it shows that we care about them, that we love them. You can’t help that, and it wouldn’t be the fault of anyone. Only a natural feeling.
Personally, I spent too many years in silence because I thought I would be a bother to the people I love if I had shared about my struggles. I was just afraid of their reaction, which is totally natural. I was afraid to be judged, misunderstood, but also to make them worried about myself. But through the years I realized that it would have been a lot more easier for me if I decided to step out of my comfort zone and be vulnerable. When we don’t reach out, we prevent ourselves to receive the love we need.
So, if you think your family could be understanding and support you, then it could be worth it to try to talk to them. With a discussion or even by writing to them. Sometimes we’re afraid to reach out because we’re ashamed, and shame can be a very destructive and isolating feeling. But if you think they wouldn’t understand or be encouraging, then here are some possibilities that you could consider:
Reaching out to a crisis line. Most of the time, we think that those are only when we’re dealing with suicidal thoughts but you can use those if you are struggling or feel in pain emotionally. It’s totally free, anonymous and you can use this service through a phone call, live chat or text line: https://www.betterhelp.com/gethelpnow/ - https://www.crisistextline.org/text-us/ They could potentientally provide you with concrete informations about services near where you live. The people working there are volunteers, but sometimes they also try to be informative about how to find appropriate help.
Heartsupport has a partnership with the service BetterHelp. You can get 7 free days of counseling on it. Practically, it implies to enter a credit card but you can cancel the subscription before being charged at the end of the week, so you can at least benefit of the 7 days. You can get more infos here: https://heartsupport.com/resources/
As a complement, it could be interesting to look at the self-help exercises available here on the Support Wall. It covers a variety of situations that could help you to reflect on yourself, clear your mind and find new strategies to move on or to take care of yourself. You can find those here: https://forum.heartsupport.com/c/growth (you may need to scroll down a little to see all of them).
I don’t know where you live (which country) but it could be interesting to do some researches on your end and see if there are public/community services that provide free therapeutic consultations or if there’s any social services in your town, so you could get further informations there. For example, I’m in Belgium, and here in family planning centers people can access to free therapy (or for a very small fee) but most of the time it’s not really known. There are also non-profit mental health services where some therapist provide free consultations, and those are community services. It can be a little bit laborious to look after that, but it could be worth it. Maybe even consider local social services, where you could ask for informations about mental health services where you live.
Well, you are here! And you can use the Support Wall as much as you need. It’s not a professional support, but it can be of a great help to share common experiences, at least to feel less alone, to be reminded that you are loved and cared for. Feel free to share about what’s going on if you want, we’re all willing to listen and support you through these tough times. Sharing, expressing yourself, is always a good start and a very important step. Especially if you feel like things has been piling up. But there’s no pressure here, and no obligation at all. Keep it safe and comfortable for yourself.
