If you are feeling sad, lonely or depressed let others know how you feel. Do not pretend that everything is OK when it is not. It is impossible for people to understand how you feel if you do not tell them. Your parents, family and friends can give you support if you let them know how you are feeling.

By sharing your feelings you will feel good about yourself. Feelings are not right or wrong, good or bad, they explain how you are feeling

There are many ways of sharing your feelings. Here are just a few ideas:

1. Talk to someone you trust - a friend, parent, family member, teacher or counsellor.
2. Write your feelings down - keep a diary or maybe write a letter to yourself that you can rip up or keep.
3. Paint or draw how you are feeling. You do not have to be a 'good' artist, just do it.
4. Find a special place. Maybe your bedroom, where you can go to sit quietly, scream or beat up your pillow.
5. Go for a long walk or run by yourself, with a friend or with your dog.

Find some ways of sharing your feelings that feel OK for you and do them.
If you have tried other ways to share your feelings, which have worked, you might like to drop us an email to let us know what it was and why it was successful.

Friends & Relationships
Should I bring my best friend home?
Do I introduce my new boyfriend / girlfriend to my unwell parent or brother / sister?
Can I avoid this issue altogether?

As a young person, friends and relationships are incredibly important. Like many young people, the opinions of your friends might also seem to be the only ones that matter "What will my friends think of me when they find out there is a mental illness in my family?" It's important to remember that you don't have to say anything to your friends unless you want to, and you trust them to know about your relative's mental illness. if you are unsure as to what their attitude will be, you could always try to casually introduce the topic of mental illness into the conversation to gauge their reactions. Agencies like ARAFMI also go to schools to teach young people about mental illness. Although it's a sad fact that some families affected by mental illness are sometimes teased or made fun of, it's important not to underestimate your friendships / relationships.
As one young person describes:
"There is a lot of stigma around mental illness. Even though having a parent with a mental illness is nothing to be ashamed about, if they don't understand, people may have stereotyped, or ignorant attitudes about mental illness. I have found, however, that being open and honest with trusted friends about my Mum's illness helped me to be less isolated and on the whole, the friends that I told have been supportive."

Talking With Your Parents
If someone in your family has a mental illness it is easy to feel rejected and ignored because all the attention is being focused on that person. You may be feeling as if no one is paying attention to the many things that you are not doing in your life. It may be that your parents are very busy and do not notice or have time to pay attention to the news you have to tell. One way of letting them know that you feel left out is by asking them for time.  You might start by saying "Dad / Mum could I spend some time with you to talk about..." Perhaps if they are very busy you could make a time to see them by saying "Dad / Mum could I speak to you both after dinner".
Another way could be to spend some time with them each week. You might play a sport together or just go for a walk.

Time Away
There may be times when you need not to be at home. If life is chaotic at home and you are trying to study for end of year exams you may need to organise somewhere else to go to study. This might mean going to study at the local library each night, studying at a friend's house or relative's house. If life is too chaotic you may need to think of other options.