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Becoming a teenager is a landmark on the way to growing up. It's the real start of developing who you are and who you want to be, questioning everything and asserting your independence.

It can be great, or it can be awful. If you're not always having the time of your life, know that it doesn't have to be like that, and for sure you are not the only one.

Communication breakdown? It's also a time when you may find it very hard to relate to adults and your parents in particular!

Where are YOU coming from?

Have you got a nice comfortable home with plenty of money coming in, posh cars and exotic holidays, a school where passing exams is encouraged and the kids in your class are just like you and behave themselves? Or is your home really a bit of a dump, nobody has a job and money is always tight, being clever at school is a reason to get beaten up, and being different is just asking to get picked on?

Got lots to worry about, or not much at all?

Are you one of the in-crowd or do you feel like a complete outsider?

Can you tell your parents (or another adult) pretty much anything, safe in the knowledge that they will not only care and understand but be willing and able to help you? Or is the truth that they would be the last people you'd want to tell anything because they wouldn't understand OR care, would either be completely useless in terms of help or even completely flip and take it out on you?

Feel secure and cared about? Comfortable with who you are? Not afraid of what other people might think, say or do? Or do you feel insecure and like life is not worth living? Hate your life AND yourself? Intimidated by peer pressure?

Are you under pressure to get all grade A's and be a high flier, or are you made to feel you could never achieve anything so why bother to try?

The truth is almost certainly somewhere between these extremes but it would be a very rare teenager who didn't ever need some help, advice or support, never worried about what the other kids said or did, and never ever felt confused, a bit lost, hurt or angry and thought no-one else was on their side or understood, let alone cared.

And if you don't feel like that now, you probably know somebody else who does. Some of your mates won't even bother to look at this site. Be a friend and tell them about it. Problems seldom just go away and ignoring them usually just makes things worse.

So where are WE coming from?

A different place to YOU! Find out why "teenagers are idiots", why you should listen to adults, and how your brain makes you "awesome" in your teens. We can't help it, and nor can you.

We want to make sure you know where to get help if and when you DO need it.
You're not a kid anymore but you're not quite ready for adult responsibilities either. You don't want to be told what to do, but you might feel a bit out of your depth and need a helping hand at times. Growing up can be hard enough to deal with, without any extra problems which a lot of young people have to face. Rough stuff stops you getting on with your life and achieving your potential. It affects your general well-being and threatens your mental health.

You're meant to be young and having fun, aren't you? We'd like to help you do that by coping with the rough stuff and learning to build your defences against it, to make the most of whatever you've got, and to aim for bigger things however hard it might seem for you to get ahead.

A Guide to Rough Times covers things which can really hit you hard - like depression, bereavement, self-harm, sexuality, eating problems and family break-ups. It shows you where to get information and a whole lot of help from people who KNOW you are not the only one, who understand how you feel, who won't judge and don't tell.

We're not saying that all of this stuff happens to every teenager and you all have a terrible time, but we're not pretending it doesn't happen either. There's no "normal" or "nice" about it - it's about being ok with yourself, the people around you, how you live your life and deal with whatever comes your way.

Whatever your background, this is for you, whether or not there is anyone out there for you to trust, whether anyone else believes in you or not, a place where you can forget what other people expect from you or think about you, what anybody else would say, whether you parents would be shocked or angry, whether your mates would take the mickey, whether you think no-one else even cares about you -