Sarah and her family worked in family therapy to have open and honest conversations about past hurts and how to strengthen the relationship between Sarah and her parents as they work through conflict better and meet everyone’s needs in the family. She developed a better understanding of the role drugs were playing in her life, and she chose to develop healthier coping skills to handle conflicts, stress, and painful feelings. While at Casa, Sarah engaged in individual, group, and family therapy. Sarah found Casa Youth Shelter and on her own came to get the help she needed, the help that she was unable to get in her current living situation. Sarah, knew she needed a safe environment that would give her support as she confronted the conflicts at home, thoughts of hurting herself, and the fear of relapsing back into drug use. Unfortunately, lacking effective coping skills or someone to talk to, and with a family history of substance abuse she turned to marijuana to disconnect from her problems, the world, and from herself. She began to overwhelmed with these thoughts and emotions. Sarah was especially angry about the abuse and neglect she experienced within her family as a child and as a teenager. Sarah had difficulty with her emotions and coping with the difficult feelings many teens experience. She was repeatedly being kicked out of her parent’s house due to violent outbursts and substance use. Instead of freaking out about everything I have going on, I look at what I need to accomplish that particular night.For several years in her early teens, Sarah struggled with homelessness. To help with the pressure, I plan out each night of the week, writing down all my activities and deadlines so I can figure what to do when. "When I'm stressed, it's either because of my school workload or social things, like feeling like I don't fit in. I love discovering new artists, and I love that I can listen to music and do homework at the same time!" I haven't been able to find one for the summer yet, and I'm worried I might not be able to do so in time. I cope by listening to music. Another thing that's causing me stress at the moment is internships. I like to help my parents because they're paying for my college tuition, but sometimes there aren't enough hours in the day to wash dishes, do laundry, help my little brother with homework, do my own homework, and study. "My mom recently got a new job, so one big thing that's stressing me out is how I have to do even more chores at home now. I relax by hanging out with friends-I love going to Starbucks with them during lunch and leaving all my studying behind for a few minutes." It's so frustrating that one bad score can ruin something you worked really hard for. It feels like they can determine so much of your future! The thought of doing poorly on a class test so that my overall grade gets lowered is also stressful to me. "I think all teenagers are stressed in some way, but as a junior in high school, the SATs and ACTs really freak me out. I just let the words pour onto the page, and then I try to let them go." As I was losing myself in all these emotions, it was easy for me to get stressed out by school and other things in my life. Right after it happened, I had no idea who I was or what made me happy anymore. Heartbreak is literally the worst feeling in the world, and it's turned my entire existence upside down. I invested so much of my time, my energy, and myself into something I thought was going to work, but then my boyfriend broke up with me. "One of the biggest stressors in my life right now is relationships-well, one in particular. That was a wakeup call-I couldn't keep doing this to myself." They had become so tight that my vertebrae were pushed forward, cutting off the nerve endings and causing me to lose feeling. Within a couple of months, it was numb practically all the time on two occasions, I couldn't feel my entire left arm or part of my face. I didn't even have enough control over my hand to text my dad that this was happening! I went to my doctor who explained that I was carrying my stress in my shoulders. During my first round of finals, I noticed my right wrist going numb, but I didn't think much of it. "I had a really difficult time with stress last year. I was in the middle of switching friend groups and college applications were just around the corner.
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