It’s okay to be sad. You’re missing how things used to be.
Crying is not babyish. It’s how your body lets the sad out.
When parents split up, you lose things: the way holidays worked, having both parents at dinner, maybe a house or a room. Feeling sad about that is grief, and grief is normal even when nobody died.
Sadness comes in waves. You can feel fine at school and then fall apart over a song in the car. That’s not you going backwards. That’s just how waves work.
If the sadness sticks around most days for a couple of weeks, makes it hard to sleep, eat, or enjoy anything, that’s a really good time to talk to a counselor. Not because something is wrong with you, but because nobody should carry that alone.
Things that might help
- Let yourself cry somewhere safe. Set a timer for ten minutes if that helps.
- Make a "still good" list: three things that are still okay in your life.
- Wrap up in a blanket and watch or read something comforting you loved when you were younger.
- Tell one person: "I’ve been feeling really sad." That’s the whole job.
If you want to say it out loud
Not sure how to start? You could try:
“I’ve been feeling really sad about everything and I don’t know what to do with it.”
You could say it to a parent, a grandparent, a teacher, a counselor, or someone on a free help line.
Things to tell yourself
- Big feelings come in waves. This one will pass.
- Missing someone means I love them. That’s a good thing to have.
- Crying is strong. It’s how my body lets the hurt out.