A 14-year-old student, who became addicted to alcohol as a coping mechanism for depression and attempted to take her own life, has spoken out about her struggles in the hope of helping others her age who may have been going through the same experience.

‘Rachel’ (not her real name) spoke to The Impartial Reporter, in the presence of her mother, of how during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the resulting isolation from her friends, she became withdrawn, spending days in bed doing nothing, before she turned to alcohol.

And she detailed how early methods of counselling through her school, and then with Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMHS), were inadequate for her needs but with the help of her family, private counselling and reflexology, she has turned her life around.

In the summer of 2020, Rachel’s parents started to notice a change in their daughter’s mood as she withdrew to her bedroom.

But with the country in lockdown they did not think much of it, until Rachel eventually spoke to them about what was really going on.

Talking to this paper, Rachel explained: “I was really at a low point and still to this day I don’t know why.

“And then I would go out with my friends and then I started drinking alcohol, and then it became a daily thing where I just kept on going out, like at weekends and then during the summer.”

Rachel continued: “And then it was literally, I was going out all the time and drinking because when I was drunk obviously it distracted me from everything else that was going on.

“There was smoking as well, but the drinking was the main part. And that is the main thing I definitely needed help for.”

While not having been diagnosed with anything, Rachel feels it all stemmed from a bit of depression: “There was something going on mentally and it all just kind of went downhill.”

At the end of 2020, Rachel turned to her parents for help, as it became to difficult for her to cope on her own. “I went to my parents and opened up to them about what I had been dealing with, and they were nothing but supportive of me.

‘Very hopeful’

“And I had always been told by different people that help is always available at any time, and you should speak to someone about your troubles, so I was very hopeful that I would be able to find a form of help to deal with these issues.

“However, after a very long time of searching for help, we began to realise how little support there actually was for teenagers who are struggling.”

First up was the school counsellor. Rachel felt the conversations she was having were what she would expect to have with a friend.

“I had never been to therapy, but I had this idea that in therapy you would talk about your problems and you would have good, deep conversations which is what it is meant to be like, and basically, all the counsellor asked me was how my day was, and then to rate my mood and stuff like that – in no way did it help at all.”

Rachel had been on the CAMHS waiting list at this point, and she was told that it could be six to 12 months before she was seen. However, matters got to a stage where Rachel, who also self-harming, attempted suicide, and she was then seen by CAMHS.

But, as with the counsellor, CAMHS was not helping, said Rachel. “When I was in CAMHS it was almost like she was trying to get me to figure things out on my own, but I couldn’t figure out why it was going on.

“And I couldn’t figure that out on my own and I thought that was what she was meant to help me with, but she was trying to get me to figure it out on my own, even though I had made it very clear that I couldn’t.”

Rachel left CAMHS and felt like she was at a dead end when it came to getting help. “I had multiple attempts of taking my own life after all this.

“I used to have these episodes. Sometimes I would have these episodes where I was really hyper and I don’t know why.

“I was very ‘up’ and very hyper, but when they were over I wouldn’t be back to normal; I would crash down, and I used to have extremely depressive episodes.

“And in those episodes I could not cope. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to move.

“I didn’t see the reasons why I should live any more, basically, and that sounds quite sad but that was how it was, and there were a few times I tried to take my own life in different ways.”

It wasn’t until she found her current private counsellor and reflexologist that Rachel was actually getting any form of support.

‘Doing so much better’

“I have been with Niall Greene’s counselling, and Judy Buckley’s reflexology, for many months now, and I am doing so much better due to the amazing support and help I received from them, but before finding them I had lost all hope, thinking I was going to be in that dark place forever.”

Rachel knows there is serious pressure on the health system, including on mental health services, but she wants more to be done for youth mental health services and support.

She added, bluntly: “I think that mental health services are about as useful as a chocolate teapot, and something needs to be done before everybody’s hope melts. These services definitely need to get their act together before things get any worse.”

This month, Northern Ireland’s Child Commissioner, Koulla Yiasouma, wept as she expressed concern that mental health services for young people are in jeopardy due to the latest Stormont crisis.

However, Rachel may well be one of the lucky ones – she is on a better path now, with no drinking or smoking, and her school grades have improved. She has a strong family, friends and a boyfriend who are very supportive.

Rachel wants to raise awareness for others her age that there is help out there and to keep looking. She said: “I think a lot of people my age who go through [my kind of experiences] tend to assume there is no help, and even people who have gone to CAMHS [may struggle].

“But I feel like you have to try not to lose that bit of hope, even though it is very hard to grab on and to keep hold of it. If you keep trying and trying and trying, you eventually get to find something that works.

“I didn’t want to get better, because I was, like, I didn’t want to keep trying, because I thought that would give me false hope. But I have got out of that mindset and I have been a lot better since.

“So you just have to keep telling yourself ‘things are going to get better and it is not going to stay the same forever’,” added Rachel.

If you need support, the following services can help

Call the Samaritans, free, at 116 123;

Aisling Centre, Enniskillen; telephone 028 66 325811; www.theaislingcentre.com.

Action Mental Health/New Horizons; telephone 028 6632 3630; www.amh.org.uk.

Young Minds; telephone 0808 802 5544; www.youngminds.org.uk.

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS); telephone 0286 634 4115.