Kids Helpline was there for me
22 year old female
Before I made my first call to Kids Helpline, I had reached a really dark place. I started high school and the abuse I had experienced as a child started catching up with me. I was feeling really down, began planning to take my own life and was also struggling with eating issues and self harm.
The first call I made to Kids Helpline was a huge step for me - I was 14 and totally freaking out! But the counsellor who answered was really friendly and I ended up telling her stuff I had never told anyone before. That call didn't make all of my problems go away, however, speaking to someone who could not see me and feeling in control of when I called gave me the courage to keep calling back.
I received such an amazing response from my counsellors and I was able to speak to the same person each time I called. I was also able to chat online or via email when it was not safe for me to call.
Even though it made me feel weird sometimes that I could not see them, my counsellors became very significant people in my life. They helped me to learn to talk about all the things I had been keeping hidden. I think that knowing that I had someone who believed in me, and who had hope for my life enabled me to develop hope for myself.
Having hope and goals gave me the motivation to look outside of the darkness in my own world and begin to see a purpose in my experiences and in my future. Kids Helpline was there for me during a time in my life when no-one else could be. I am so grateful to my counsellors and to Kids Helpline because they have given me so much care, helped me to come to terms with my experiences and I truly believe that they saved my life.
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