Gabriella’s Story

Counselling helped to manage her mental health

Worried for her life

“I just felt like something had changed. I was constantly crying all the time. Something wasn’t right, but I didn’t know the reason behind it. It just got worse as time went on. I was suicidal and I used to self harm. When it got to that point, I decided that I didn’t want to feel that way anymore – either I got help or it was never going to get better.”

– Gabriella

Gabriella was initially shy and anxious about sharing her feelings with a stranger. But she knew she had to try something. Youth Talk counselling offered tailored support to make her feel comfortable so she could start to heal.  The counselling gave Gabriella a chance to talk in confidence about what was on her mind.

“At first, we were just talking, but somehow I felt better. As time went on, we went into things in more detail. You wouldn’t tell your parent’s certain things, but with my counsellor it was different because I felt like I wasn’t being judged, so I could say whatever was on my mind. The fact they weren’t going to share it was good. It was nice to have a space where I could just vent about everything.” 

Gabriella’s year of counselling sessions facilitated an in-depth exploration of her past so she could understand the reasons behind her feelings. She said: “We came to the conclusion that my parents’ divorce three years earlier was one of the triggers for my low mood, alongside losing lots of friendships, which made me start to feel negative about myself. Back then I probably didn’t express how I was feeling, so it bottled up and came out.” 

Approaching difficult situations

Understanding her feelings has led Gabriella to develop healthier approaches to dealing with difficult situations. By healing herself, Gabriella was able to accept her parent’s separation and strengthen her connections with them. “Most of the time my counselling was focused on trying to learn to love myself and to not blame myself for everything. It also enabled me to repair my relationship with my mum and to not be scared to build new friendships,” Gabriella reflected. “It made me understand things more and realise thing differently, so it made me want to fix things. I felt more like I could see it from a different perspective.” 

Coping strategies to manage mental health

Since finishing counselling five years ago, there have been ups and downs, but the support Gabriella received continues to have lasting benefits.

Support through counselling

Gabriella’s early experiences and counselling have shaped her as an adult. She is committed to helping others by working towards a career in mental health and joined the Youth Panel to shape Youth Talk’s work. 

“It’s good that I carried on and I asked for help when it was needed. I’m just glad that I went to counselling and that things improved, it’s just about being strong enough to ask for help. It changed everything for me.” 

Youth Panel

Our charity exists to support young people and our work wouldn’t be right if it wasn’t informed by them. Youth Talk’s Youth Panel advise us on a range of projects and issues to help us stay engaged and grow.

We now have 11 active young people contributing their feedback to Youth Talk. If you would like to find out more about how you can join please email us: getinvolved@youthtalk.org.uk

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