My parents got a divorce and then my dad would cheat on a lot of women. He was going from woman to woman and he also would live in an apartment sometimes. Then my mom found a boyfriend and me and my step brother got really close, but he got kicked out the house cause he did a lot of drugs. Then my girlfriend is moving to a different state. My dad is with a woman he has been with for a long time and we got close. He is cheating on her and she is going to buy a house and leave him.
HELP YOURSELF
- It sounds like you have needed to respond to many different changes in your personal life. When these shifts occur, it can sometimes be difficult to adapt and find our new normal. Thanks for trusting TeenCentral and sharing your family’s particular story with us.
- With some of the people that you trust potentially moving away, it may feel like you are forced to face some of these challenging situations on your own. Please remember that there are trustworthy people available to support and listen to you without any judgment. You can always start a conversation by simply texting “HELLO” to 741741 to reach the Crisis Textline 24 hours a day.
- Have you ever talked about how you feel about all of these changes with any of the adults in your life? You mentioned that you were able to become close with several of your relatives. Even if you are no longer living with somebody, you can still try to maintain contact with them and look to them for support. If you are ever a little stressed or uneasy about what’s happening in your life, it can really help to process your thoughts and feelings with a trusted adult who knows and cares for you!
CONSIDER THIS
- With all of the changes that have been occurring in your life, have you ever taken a moment to reflect on what you think about these developments and how they make you feel? Perhaps you can try using this Weekly Mood Tracker to start linking together your thoughts and feelings to the events that are happening around you. By doing this exercise regularly, we can often learn many new things about ourselves and how we respond to changes in our environment!
- Sometimes if you are not used to talking about your thoughts and feelings, it can be useful to express yourself through an artistic outlet, like songwriting, drawing, or photography. It can simply begin as a distraction, but you may find that you end up channeling your emotions into something that you also enjoy doing. If you never tried this type of activity, you can find tips on how to get started by checking out the post called Art as a Coping Skill for Stress on TeenCentral’s What’s New Blog.
- Whenever there are many changes in our lives, we can sometimes feel overwhelmed or a little out of control. To make sure that we do not lose ourselves in the potential chaos, we have to remember to prioritize our own well-being. Whatever you do for self-care, whether it’s playing a sport or listening to music, you need to make sure that you stay centered by finding time every day to do the things that you enjoy in life!
