PLEASE NOTE THAT THE FOLLOWING ARTICAL IS NOT WRITTEN BY A PROFESSIONAL BUT IS BASED ON THE EXPERieNCES OF BEREAVED FAMILIES IN OUR GROUP.

You are a teenager or older and you are finding it hard to cope with the stresses of day to day living.

You are worried about exams, an apprenticeship, work or maybe other aspects of life are getting you down. You will be glad to know that most people experience the same feelings at some time in their lives and get through life ok.

But there comes a time for some people when this worry starts to affect their normal day to day living. (i.e. tired, finding it hard to get up for work, lack of interest, lack of concentration etc.)

It is at this point you should seek help.

You should open up to your parents, family or a close freind. This will be a load off your mind and will help them to understand why maybe you were behaving a little different lately.

You should then seek professional help. 

It is widely recommended that the first professional you should see is your GP.He/she may be able to treat you or may refer you to another professional or service. 

It is at this point that some of the families in the group experienced difficulties.

They were referred privately to a psychiatrist or to a psychiatrist working for the health board. In both cases the experience of the families was that their loved ones did not get the attention they were expecting, for one reason or another.

We would recommend that if you are not happy with the professional you are attending that you should go back to your GP and ask to be referred to some one else, maybe it is a different type of professional that you require .You will know when you have met the right person to help you as it will be some one who you can relate to. 

From the experience of bereaved families and those who have experienced parasuicide in their families we have compiled a list of professionals and services that we can recommend (click ‘professionals and services’)