Ep.86: Surviving a road traffic collision

"The only person who can help you is you" Harriet Barnsley survived a serious road traffic collision in 2014 when she was 21. She was hit, as a pedestrian, by a car travelling at 101miles per hour. She woke from a month-long coma to learn that her best friend had been killed at the scene. Harriet lives with a long list of injuries and is physically disabled. She suffered a traumatic brain injury in the collision, and went on to develop bipolar as a result. 2:00 - Being bullied at school for being good at her work, wanting to do well, and not conforming to the tough girls' standards. Harriet says what a relief it is as an adult to realise that we're "not trying to ruin each other's lives" any more! 8:00 - Proof that we're all feeling as insecure as each other - no one is invulnerable. 11:00 - How time makes hard things easier to bear, and the joy of finding a real connection in friendship. 14:20 - Harriet describes the incident she was involved in. 19:45 - Recovery from severe injuries and how it affects mental health.  22:00 - Is it tough love? How parents can support an injured child - the tricky balance between empathy and resilience.  25:00 - Why worrying doesn't help your teenager, and how to make peace with your anxiety as a parent and be present for your child.  28:00 - What it's like to live with life-changing injuries. 29:00 - The mental health effects of ignoring the emotional impact of a road traffic collision. Harriet describes her psychosis and mental health breakdown, and how it "set her free".  34:00 - What it's like to live with bipolar. 36:30 - How to get through the worst thing you could possibly imagine. Making the choice to do hard things.  40:00 - How to get through a parent's worst nightmare.  49:00 - Harriet's main piece of advice: if you're struggling with something, TALK to someone. Trying to ignore your feelings never works.  Harriet is now writing a memoir - Thrown, about coping when your life is thrown off course. She volunteers for a number of mental health and disability charities and is training to be a counsellor.  More from Helen Wills: Helen wills is a teen mental health podcaster and blogger at Actually Mummy [https://www.actuallymummy.co.uk/], a resource for midlife parents of teens. Thank you for listening! Subscribe [https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/teenage-kicks-podcast/id1501488455] to the Teenage Kicks podcast to hear new episodes. If you have a suggestion for the podcast please get in touch [https://actuallymummy.co.uk/about/contact/]. You can find more from Helen Wills on parenting teenagers on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/iamhelenwills/] and Twitter [https://twitter.com/iamhelenwills] @iamhelenwills. For information on your data privacy please visit Zencastr's policy page [https://zencastr.com/privacy-policy] Please note that Helen Wills is not a medical expert, and nothing in the podcast should be taken as medical advice. If you're worried about yourself or a teenager, please seek support from a medical professional. Episode produced by Michael J Cunningham [https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-j-cunningham-245586266/].