Clare Hatton on the unbearable pain of watching your child suffer a mental breakdown

As a parent watching your child suffer is unbearable. For Clare her beautiful son Harrison aged 16 admitted to feeling suicidal. 

Clare’s conversation with me, which is deeply personal and painful, represents the mental health pandemic in young people, which is wrecking lives – individually, in families and in society as a whole.

In this episode you will hear:

• The first time Clare heard that Harrison was contemplating taking his own life, how devastating it was, and also what a relief that he did tell her. 
• How Clare was split in two – between being his loving caring mother and a human being trying to find a solution to his problem.
• How, as a parent, we all, and Clare in this case, looks back and wonders what did I miss? What did I do wrong? Did I build him the wrong way? The pervasive sense of guilt as a parent when we can’t fix our child’s problem.
• The intensity of the struggle Clare and her husband had in trying to find him the support her child needs – incompetence, lack of care, lack of resources, constantly hitting brick walls. To the extent that Harrison still has no consistent support now.
• You will hear one of the distressing episodes of Harrison’s breakdown and how traumatising it is for the whole family. 
• Clare’s inspiring determination to keep Harrison alive, and fight for his support. Her description of the catalogue of failings In a Mental Health system which is broken and fractured. 
• How, as a family they live with the burden of this terror, that Harrison might one day succeed. 

We want this episode to help you have conversations in your family to ensure that your loved ones can be honest with you about their Mental Health, as prevention is the best cure. Also it’s important we recognise the scale of the problem in Children and Adolescent Mental health Services so we can campaign to improve them. 

Important support links:

• Community Advice and Listening Line (C.A.L.L.) - https://www.callhelpline.org.uk/
• Maytree Suicide Respite Centre - https://www.maytree.org.uk/
• James' Place - https://www.jamesplace.org.uk/get-support/
• Shout - https://giveusashout.org/
• Calm Halm - https://calmharm.co.uk
• Papyrus - https://www.papyrus-uk.org
• Child Mind - https://childmind.org/
• Charlie Waller Foundation - https://charliewaller.org/

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/therapyworks and get on your way to being your best self.

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