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It is normal for humans to feel the whole spectrum of emotions from joy and excitement to sadness and anger. When you begin puberty, your body is experiencing many changes caused by hormones. Hormones are like messengers in your body that control everything! They control your growth and development, but also your mood.   

When you are in your teen years you have a huge amount of hormonal change and this can impact your mood significantly resulting in you experiencing emotional reactions that might not seem logical given the circumstances. For example, you might get really angry or sad and you might not know why. I want to assure you, this is normal during puberty.  This can be a really tough thing to go through and its important you are kind to yourself when this happens. Find ways of releasing these emotions that help you such as exercising, talking to friends and family about how you are feeling, and journaling. Journaling not only gives you a way of expressing your emotions but can also serve as a resource to look back on to see what helped you feel better when you were feeling sad or angry so that when you feel that way again you might be able to try a self- care strategy that has worked before.  

Most importantly, reach out for help, try your friends and family, or a counsellor, and there is always Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800) available as well.  

~ Christie  

I am really sorry to hear your mum does not believe you. That is an extremely tough place to be in. I would highly recommend you try to contact a counsellor, perhaps one that specialises in intimate partner violence, sexual assault and/or youth (depending what you have been through) to work through what happened. Unfortunately there are people out there that will not believe you so it is important to seek support from people who will believe and support you.

Here are some services that can help:

All the best.

~ Christie

There are lots of different rights and responsibilities in relationships. We teach about 9 main ones in our program, Junior Respect me. All of these however, centre around respect, equality and safety, which are the most important ingredients for a healthy relationship.  

Rights and responsibilities go hand in hand with each right having a corresponding responsibility, for example:  

  • I have the right to say no to things I don’t want to do matches I have the responsibility to accept my friend's decision and not keep asking. 
  • I have the right to express my opinion matches the responsibility to respect my friend's opinions.
  • I have the right to respectfully disagree with my friend, and I have the responsibility to understand that my friends might respectfully disagree with me.
  • I have the right to be treated as an equal, I have the responsibility to treat my friend as an equal.
  • It is important to know your rights and responsibilities within a relationship and be able to communicate openly and freely with your partner. You may not always agree on everything, but you should always feel safe and respected.  

~ Christie  

The legal age to consent to have sex in Queensland is 16. When we say sex, we mean sexual intercourse which is when a penis, finger, object or any part of a person is fully or partially inside another person’s vagina or anus. This is called penetration. This legal age applies to all people, including people in same-sex and heterosexual relationships.  At 16 years old, people reach the age of consent, which means in the eyes of the law they are viewed to have general sexual competence to enforce personal boundaries and negotiate the risks involved in sexual activities.

~ Christie