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Tag: #selfharm

Thank you note from a teen in India

self harm safety kit artwork
Ayushree’s artwork

Many times, teens will go to google to ask a burning question. Usually, those questions are of a sensitive nature.

Ayushree is from India. She is very intelligent, cute, and very talented. It was last year when she reached out to me because she was distressed over her habit of self-harming when she was distressed. She knew it wasn’t the right way to cope but she wasn’t sure what to do to break the habit and she had distanced herself recently from a toxic friend group.

We emailed back and forth and the first thing I asked her … Read more...

What I put in my self-harm safety kit

by Ayushree

Note from Anne Moss: A self-harm safety box is a kit that a person puts together as a self-help strategy. This was sent to me by Ayushree and she details the contents of her safety box which she has so far found helpful in breaking her self-harm habit.

Self-harm safety box

To make my own self-harm safety kit, I took a shoebox, covered it in white paper and made doodles all over it. I didn’t write anything on it because otherwise, my mom would know.

Doodles are one of my hobbies and it helps me to relieve stress. … Read more...

Why do people cut?

People cut to:

  • Help them feel something when they are numb inside
  • Be able to physically see the pain they feel inside
  • To escape or distract them from their emotional pain
  • To punish themselves
  • Push their pain away
  • Feel a sense of control, joy, or excitement
  • Communicate their emotional pain to others
  • Distract themselves from emotionally painful issues

To those who can’t fathom it, cutting is a mysterious practice. Why would anyone do that to themselves?

People cut to cope with any number of situations–grief, rape, thoughts of suicide, an eating disorder, depression, sexual abuse, relationship disruption, and more. Cutting … Read more...

Cutting to cope

by Anjelica Diaz

I was only 13 and when I went through rough times. I had to move away from my home and my dad, and start over at a new school. It did have its perks though. I got to be with my baby brother and sister.

A few weeks in, I was placed in CPS (Child Protective Services) and went to a mental hospital for the first time. I still remember the day–March 17, 2015. It was really scary and I think that’s where all my behaviors started.

I thought about suicide but I’d never attempted it. It … Read more...

What to say to someone who tells you they are cutting

how to help a friend who is cutting

“Can we go together to tell a trusted adult?”

“When did it all start?”

“How can I help?”

“Tell me more.”

“Does anyone else know?”

“How do you feel about this?”

You want to know how you can help a friend who is cutting. When someone tells you they are cutting, which is also called non-suicidal self-injury, they are struggling and probably want someone to listen.  (There are resources below.)

I want you to know, however, that you only have to listen long enough to recognize there is a problem.

Connect with the pain first

In other words, you don’t … Read more...

Battle Scars

by Paul Buskey

We don’t know as we go through life, how often we may or may not impact someone else. But our daily interactions, no matter how brief, can actually change a life and make a difference. I want to tell you a story about what happened and how it impacted my life.

I live in Richmond and was visiting New York with my family when I saw a young lady with noticeable scars. I stopped because I recognized what those scars were from and I walked up to her and directly referenced them but not in the way … Read more...

My First Tattoo. Covers my Scars, but Not my Journey

By Tammy Ozolins

Late one night I came home depressed. Living with Bipolar is difficult enough, but the depression was getting the best of me. So, I decided I had enough and I took a handful of my mom’s sleeping pills and was excited to be ending my life.

I then went to my bedroom and I remember the room spinning and I just laid down and the room went black. I woke up the next day and the first thing I said to myself, was “I am so stupid I cannot even kill myself right.” I went for several more weeks, still in … Read more...

Evil E.D. held my son hostage

by Tamara Harvey Braswell

The Woodlake Turkey Trot was in honor of Logan Neal. November 19, 2016, 9:00am-11:30am.

It’s name is Evil ED. ED stands for Eating Disorder.

I declared war on Evil ED shortly before my son Logan turned 16. The disease crept up on him subtly and gradually until it had a death hold on his brain.

Evil ED does not discriminate. It’s an equal opportunity life destroyer. The common myth is only young females have eating disorders. Not true.

Evil ED’s victims are girls, women, boys and men. They are all races. They are high school … Read more...

The Self-Harm Safety Box

by Jody Bee

This is not to take the place of appropriate mental health care. It is a self-help guide is for those who self harm and want to stop but are not sure how from a woman who has struggled and managed to break the vicious cycle of self harm. 

Self-harm is on the rise at an alarming rate, not only amongst teens but adults as well. If you are sitting in a classroom or a school auditorium, glance around you.

Would you think that any of the people you see, be it friends or strangers have self-inflicted scars, bruises … Read more...