I try really hard in school, especailly Maths because I always find that one the hardest. I suffer from depression, anxiety and panic disorders, OCD, I also self-harm and have an eating disorder. I used to be bulimic too. I've been at CAMHS for nearly a year and I'm going on antidepressants soon too. Some teachers do know about it all but I feel like I can't do my homework because I can't concentrate anymore. My Maths teacher says I can do it but I don't think I can. My friend called me pathetic for not eating the other day and this boy who sits behind me in Maths called me thick today too. I'm so stupid! I don't know what to do?! But I'm too scared to ask for extra help in case my teacher thinks I'm stupid!! HELP?!
Sam
Hi there,
Thanks for your message, Im really glad you decided to tell me about how things are for you because school is on a lot of peoples minds, particularly at this time of year when there are a lot of exams.
Young people tell me that school is often one of the main things affected when they are having problems. Often when something else is a problem it can really start to affect your school work.
I can hear how you have some mental health problems and that these are something youve started to get treatment for, which is really good, but it sounds like your school work is still being affected. It can be really hard to try to get on with the rest of our lives when we have things that we cannot ignore getting in the way and having a big impact on us and what we do.
It sounds like you feel asking for help makes you stupid, but I dont think it does. Think of it this way if people didnt need help with their work then there wouldnt be any need for teachers, people could learn everything themselves from a textbook! Teachers are there to support you and it doesnt make you stupid to ask for help. Sometimes we need to ask for help more than once for the person we are asking to understand how much our problems are affecting us and our work.
It might also be important to talk to your doctor or CAMHS about the problems youre having concentrating, perhaps they might be able to help you change that. It is important when we have professional support available that we make it work for us. You do not say if you have told the people at CAMHS how you are feeling about your school work, but you might consider what help or support they can give you around this and think about what might happen if you tell them.
Remember ChildLine is also there for you if you need someone to listen or to help you see things more clearly and their counsellors would be more than happy to talk through a 1-2-1 chat or email about your problems and how you can cope with that.
Take care.
Sam
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