Parenting a struggling teen support in Jamaica 🇯🇲

“Dear stranger, i was in the same place nearly four years ago. It was a friend group I do not trust and I couldn't see past it. Last month I had people round for dinner. Praying for you.”

“If you're at the start of this, I won't pretend it's easy. The first few months were the worst of my life. But I'm writing this from the other side, and some days now I forget to be sad. I had to ask for help and it nearly killed me, but it was the right thing. Go slowly.”

“Reading this late at night? I've been there. A few years back, that was me. The CAMHS waiting list. That was my life. Today I made breakfast, went to work and laughed at something. It doesn't stay this heavy. x”

“If you're just starting with a teen who won't leave their room, I won't pretend I have the answers. For me, the waiting list felt endless and the exclusion letters kept coming. What helped was finding one other parent who got it. I still drive nights and Nathan still games, but we had a chat last week about nothing much. That was something.”