I don’t know what to do. I just came home from a psych hospital and am going back to school for the first time in a while. The school emailed my parents and won’t let me talk to my friends about what happened. I don’t think that’s fair. It’s also been extremely hard to get back to normal life and do the things I used to do before going inpatient, and I am triggered easily. I don’t know what to do!
HELP YOURSELF:
- Thank you for writing in to our TeenCentral site to share your experience. We are sorry to hear you are going through such a rough patch right now. It seems like you are feeling anxious about your return to school and that is very understandable.
- We also want to commend you for doing the work necessary to be successfully discharged from the hospital. Consider, did you learn any new or useful coping skills from your time in inpatient therapy? Hopefully you were linked to some discharge aftercare that can help you as you continue on your journey to positively coping with whatever is/was going on prior to going to the hospital.
- Consider this also, can you speak to your parents or to school staff such as a guidance counselor or principal about your feelings? Would it help to put your feelings down on paper in a journal or in the form of a letter? There is no shame in getting the help you need, but it also does not do well to dwell on the past. Try moving forward using the new skills you learned and surround yourself with healthy people who also want to focus on the positive present.
CONSIDER THIS:
- Try looking at our website for some other useful ideas. On the WHAT’S NEW tab, there is a great resource for using Art As A Coping Skill For Stress.
- You might like the Daily Positive Reminder on our TOOLS tab.
- Under our LEARN tab you can find information on Relationships, Anxiety, or Depression. And if you ever need it, there are also great resources on our HELP tab if you really need additional help. Focus on your strengths right now, you accomplished getting out of the hospital and taking care of yourself. Keep up that positive momentum.
