"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, a resource for midlife parents of teens.

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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.