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Narrative Therapy

By Test User / December 18, 2024

Mindfulness-Based Interventions

their first heartbreak feels like the end of the w

their first heartbreak feels like the end of the world because for them, it kind of is, it’s the first time. don’t rush them out of it. sit in it with them. that’s the memory that stays.

💛 save this for when she needs it

📤 send it to a parent of a teen
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#raisingdaughters #parentingteens #heartbreak #teenagegirls #motherdaughterlove

Most parents warn their kids about addiction… but

Most parents warn their kids about addiction… but leave out the most important part.

Addiction happens when something makes you feel better too fast and the brain starts depending on that instead of learning how to cope. It’s not about being “bad.” It’s about escaping overwhelming feelings.

The strongest protection isn’t fear.
It’s skills…
- Being able to talk about feelings
- Knowing they’re accepted, even in anger or tears
- Learning to handle boredom, frustration and waiting
- Watching you cope with stress in healthy ways
- Feeling connection without shame

Say this to your teen… “Your feelings aren’t dangerous. Even the hard ones don’t stay forever… and you don’t have to handle them alone.”

Strong relationships protect better than control ever will 🤍

– Send this to a parent who needs it
– Follow for more of the words to say in the hard moments

I’m building a library of word-for-word scripts for moments like this. Comment SCRIPTS to join the list 🤍
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#addictionrecovery #raisingteens #parentingteens #teenmentalhealth

half the things that felt like the end of the worl

half the things that felt like the end of the world at fifteen, you can’t even remember now. imagine being handed that perspective back then. share it with the teenager who needs to hear it while it still feels that big.

- save this.

- send it to a teen who’s in it right now.
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#teenmentalhealth #raisingteens #parentingteens #teencounseling #teencounseling

Read this before you ever need it…. It’s 9:47pm.

Read this before you ever need it….

It’s 9:47pm.

You’ve just seen it. Or they’ve shown you. Or told you. Your world just tilted.
Panic. Guilt. Anger. That’s love and terror colliding. Feel it. Don’t act from it yet.

First, don’t react in horror. The face you make in the next 30 seconds becomes a memory they carry. If they read horror on your face they stop telling you.

Take one slow breath. Sit down with them. Get closer, not further.

Then say something close to this…

“Thank you for showing me. You’re not in trouble. I’m not going anywhere.”

Then, gently, two questions. Not a list.
“Is what you did tonight something we need to get looked at right now?”
“Was tonight about ending your life, or about coping with a feeling?”
If it needs medical care, go tonight. GP or ED.

If tonight was about ending their life, you don’t leave their side. Ring Kids Helpline together or go to ED.

If it’s no to both, stop there for tonight. Not “why”. Not “how long”. Not “promise me you won’t again”. Each one sounds to them like judgement.

Tomorrow not tonight, you say…
“I’ve been sitting with what you showed me. I want to help you find someone who understands this better than I do.”
Then make the call. GP first, for a safety plan and mental health care plan referral. Whatever they used gets moved out of easy reach. Quietly, not dramatically.

Two things not to do this week.. don’t ask them to promise, and don’t check their body without them knowing. Promises add shame. Body checks feel like surveillance.

What they need to know.. this doesn’t make them any less loveable. This is the middle of something they couldn’t hold alone anymore.

You seeing it is the first time they’re not carrying it by themselves.

– Send this to a parent who’s just found out
- Save this for the night you hope never comes

Comment SCRIPTS to join the interest list for my word-for-word scripts library 🤍

General guidance only, not a substitute for professional support.
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#teenmentalhealth #parentingteens #raisingteens #selfharmawareness teenager

Party season is here. Read this before it happens

Party season is here. Read this before it happens in your house.

It’s 11:53pm.

You’ve been trying to reach her since 10. She’s just walked in the door. You can smell it before she’s said a word.

Your body’s already had its reaction. Something between panic and rage. That’s normal. Feel it. Don’t move from it yet.

Here’s what I’ve watched work in every family I’ve sat with over the years

Do NOT interrogate her tonight.

I know that’s the hardest ask in the world. Every instinct is screaming at you to demand who, where, why, and how much. Please don’t. She’s not going to give you the truth version tonight. She’s going to give you the version her brain can find at 11:53pm after her first time drunk. It’ll be defensive. It’ll be wrong. It’ll turn into a fight… and she’ll wake up tomorrow with a story about how mum lost it. Not a story about the choice she made

Instead tonight, you say this…

“I love you. We’ll talk tomorrow. Let’s get you into bed with a big glass of water.”

That’s the whole play for tonight

Then tomorrow when she’s shaky and sorry and dreading whatever’s coming, you say this..

“I’m not angry at you. I’m worried about you. I want to understand what happened not to punish you but so I know how to help you if you’re ever in that situation again.”

Now she can tell you. Now she will

🫶🏽

- Send this to a parent about to say something they’ll regret tonight

- Save this for the next time your teen makes a choice that scares you

I’m building a library of word-for-word scripts for moments like this. Comment SCRIPTS to join the interest list and hear first 🤍

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#parentingteens #raisingteens #teenmentalhealth #adolescents

Sometimes the healthiest thing isn’t forcing schoo

Sometimes the healthiest thing isn’t forcing school. It’s helping your teen find a different path.

Psychology tells us teens grow when three needs are met…

Autonomy…feeling some control over their life

Competence… feeling good at something

Connection… feeling they belong somewhere

For some teens, school meets none of those. Every morning becomes a battle, and the message they hear is “you’re failing”. That message sticks around long after school ends.
Many of the most resilient, creative adults I know struggled at school. Their confidence didn’t come from a report card. It came from finding something they were good at and someone who believed in them while they found it.

But first ask why. If your teen is avoiding school because of anxiety, bullying, a learning difficulty or neurodivergence, leaving won’t fix that. Avoidance can make anxiety grow. Get support first… a GP, a counsellor, the school’s wellbeing team.

If you’ve truly tried everything, then stop pushing uphill and start building a bridge…

- an apprenticeship or traineeship
- TAFE or a short course
- a job that teaches real skills
- a mentor in something they love

School is one path. Your job is to make sure they have a path, and that they know you’re on their side while they find it. 🫶🏽

Did you or your teen leave school early? How did it turn out? Tell me below
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#parentingteens #teenmentalhealth #teenager #schoolrefusal #leavingschool

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