My 19 year old daughter has been of very low mood just lately. At first I thought this was a phase and would pass and she was just being a typical teenager. However, it hasn’t, and it’s started to impact all areas of her life. I really don’t know how to help her.
Firstly, it’s good that you have recognised that your daughter may have more serious mental health illness. We can all feel of low mood from time to time and
usually we will bounce back. However, if someone starts to feel sad, appears to have lost all their motivation and clearly isn’t looking after themselves, and this goes on for a prolonged period, it is likely that the person has slipped into serious mental ill-health.
What can you do?
Listen – by simply giving someone the space to talk, and listening to how they may be feeling, can be helpful. However, they may find this difficult, so don’t push, just let them know that you are there for them whenever they are ready.
Reassure – by letting someone know they are not alone. This can make a lot of difference to someone who wishes to reach out for help, but may be feeling scared and very alone.
Stay calm and be patient – stay calm while you are listening to someone and be patient. Let them take the lead, give them plenty of time and acknowledge their
feelings. Don’t assume that you know how they feel.
Keep things normal – as part of your emotional support you may like to offer some social contact to the person, as you normally would. You could also talk about other things that are going on in your lives.
Be kind – A little kindness goes a long way towards making someone feel less isolated, listened to and cared for.
Practical support
- You may like to encourage and support the person to visit their GP.
- You may like to support them by helping them to write down some of the important points that they wish to talk about during their appointment.
- You may like to help the person to research information and other avenues of support.
www.infolink.suffolk.gov.uk
www.youngminds.org.uk
www.thesource.me.uk
www.kooth.com
www.suffolkmind.org.uk - By understanding their illness, they can better know how to deal with it.
- You may like to support the person with their daily living tasks, such as helping them to prepare and cook a meal, prompting them to look after their
personal care etc. - You may like to support the person to become more organised.
- You may like to help them by listening to their aspirations and by supporting them to break down the barriers that may be in the way of them achieving their goal. Remember the goal.
Please note that this information is correct at the time of publication
