I have just started watching BBC3’s new series ‘Don’t call me crazy’ which focuses on a teenage mental health unit in Manchester. It makes for fascinating but also extremely sad viewing.

These are young people suffering from a host of different problems including depression, anxiety and hallucinations which then result in negative behaviour patterns such as self-harming, eating disorders and suicidal tendencies.

 Some of the teenagers are sectioned which means that they cannot leave the unit, or at least only for very short periods of time. One of the patients, Beth, a strikingly pretty girl who suffered from an eating disorder, had appealed against her section and was expecting to be able to leave the unit, but had her appeal refused. It was all the more distressing as another patient, Gill, was taken off section that same day and – like any teenager really – was celebrating loudly without showing any sensitivity to Beth. Interestingly, Gill had responded very well to mindfulness therapy.

Many of the patients seem to have suffered some sort of trauma during childhood, and this could be neglect, abuse or family break-up. Their resulting difficulties in adolescence are then quite simply self-protecting strategies which they have developed during their childhood in order to be able to survive.

I really liked the comment made by the head of the unit when he said that their aim was not to create ‘the perfect teenager’, but to equip these young people with new, more healthy and positive strategies which they can use in times of stress, instead of resorting to negative behaviour patterns.

When I think of my own lovely, but sometimes difficult boys, I feel so blessed that they are well and reasonably happy with life. It is difficult as a parent, but if you can support and encourage them and help them to find ways of dealing with life’s challenges in their own way, then you are not doing too badly.

If you feel that your teenager needs a little bit of support, do contact me as hypnotherapy has great results with this age group.

Best wishes,
Wendy x