Your teenager is a superhero!

Your teenager is a superhero! (And so are you!)

Welcome to Mental Health Awareness Week! Parents and carers across the country breathed a sigh of relief, even celebrated, when Boris Johnson announced the return to school dates earlier this year.

Homeschooling, isolation, and the national lockdown had taken their toll. Many teenagers looked forward to seeing their friends and teachers again. They longed for the hustle and bustle of the school classroom, the corridors, the playground... but, of course, many others did not.

Many children, teenagers and young people struggled with mental health issues before the pandemic. But tens of thousands more now struggle with their mental health post-lockdown. And the picture is the same for adults, too.

Sadly, since last year, the growth of a wide range of mental health issues such as disorders, eating disorders, anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicidal tendencies are on the rise.

How can we help our children and young people?

And how can we help ourselves too?

Firstly, it is good to give ourselves a moment. Take a minute to check in with yourself. How are you feeling?

If you want and need to look after someone else, it's important firstly to look after yourself. Only when you are in a good place, feeling well, strong, and able to cope, only then can you be there for someone else.

So how are you? Take a moment. Breathe. And ask yourself, how you are feeling? Good to go? Great! But it's OK too if you're not.

1. Phone a friend

Literally phone/text/message or speak to a friend for a few minutes. It will make a difference. I can promise you that.

2. Ask the audience

Whatever is challenging you today, there will be someone out there who can listen or help. This might be someone at work if work is becoming a challenge. Or it might be a neighbour if you need a small favour such as an hour of childminding or a bottle of milk from the shops.

However big or small, asking someone 'out there' makes a massive difference and it shows strength rather than weakness. It shows how resilient you are that you know it's OK to ask for help. And you want that extra little bit of support because you want to keep going doing your best. You are amazing!

3. Take a chance

Do something new. Do something different. If you keep doing the same thing then you will keep getting the same results. So, step out of your comfort zone, test the water and see how it feels... have fun with it! Enjoy!

So now that you're feeling better yourself, and your vessel is full, you can now start to give to others, to your children, and your family.

What professional support is available?

Sometimes, especially during a global pandemic, our children and young people may need extra help and support that we cannot give. This is where professional support comes in.

Your GP, local practice, CAMHS, local authority mental health services, and so on offer incredibly important services and should be your first port of call.

However, sometimes just that something extra is required. This is where private therapists, specialists and clinical hypnotherapists come in. Specialist hospitals, such as the Maudsley Hospital (SlaM) and the Priory Hospitals, (where I have been involved in care for clients) are also available.

How can hypnotherapy help?

Clinical hypnotherapy is a proven and well-researched method of treatment for a range of mental health issues and challenges including anxiety, trauma, PTSD, addiction, eating disorders, self-harm, and more.

With the help of a clinical hypnotherapist, teenagers and young people can access treatments to help improve their mental well-being, build mental resilience, and strengthen their overall well-being. Neuroplasticity is the key here for children and young people - but more on that in a moment.

Clinical hypnotherapy and hypnosis is renowned for working incredibly well and successfully with children, teenagers and young people.

Children, with their young, fresh, and open minds, are open to trying new strategies and techniques and are willing to fully take part and engage with hypnotherapy. Hypnotherapy, with the right hypnotherapist, is more playful, fun, and engaging than traditional therapies. And so, it generally appeals to this side of young people and teenagers who wouldn't ordinarily opt to go and see a therapist.

A recent young client of mine commented that the session had been the exact opposite of what they had expected, being so much more fun than they had anticipated. They even said that they had learned so much and that it was so much better than the usual therapy session that they used to have!

So, with the right hypnotist/hypnotherapist, and the right approach, clinical hypnotherapy can in fact be the most suitable therapy for our young children and young minds. Moreover, the adaptability and flexibility of children and their brains means that, when using hypnotherapy with children, neuroplasticity is greatly promoted, which in turn promotes the potential for lifelong brain development throughout the later life stages.

Neuroplasticity is the brain's ability to change. In other words, how our brains rewire, relearn, and strengthen important connections. In harnessing and developing neuroplasticity within the brain, the brain creates and reinforces new neural pathways to learn, to think, to do, and to be better! This makes us happier, more adaptable, more resilient, and more flexible human beings.

I believe this is why every child and young person should experience some form of hypnosis and hypnotherapy at an early age - developing their brain's neuroplasticity and building strong and new neural pathways for later life!

Please always seek out the help of a well qualified, certified, and registered therapist and ask the advice of your GP. 

And remember, your teenager is a superhero! And so are you!

Take care and thank you. Rebecca