Is It Still 'Just a joke"?

Self harm is a serious issue. It progressively gets worse until it’s the only thing that will calm you, take away the pain, and sooth those thoughts and feelings. Self harm does not make you weak. Not in any way. Self harm is a dangerous, and sometimes life threatening condition that is hell to come out of. Believe me, I know.

I know what it’s like to have to hide your scars. To lie to friends. Family. I know what it’s like to be taunted every single fucking day by that blade. I know the name calling and hate. The feeling of denial. I know the panic and complete suffering when trying to stop. I know the guilt of starting again after coming so damn far. I know the losses. Of friends. Trust. Even grades. I know the attempts. The hospital stays. The rehab. I know it all. And the fact that I know all of these things is proof that you are not alone.

People classify self harm to just cutting. Cutting on wrists to be exact. But it’s not just cutting. It’s burning, scratching, bruising, biting, starving. And it takes place all over the body. Legs, necks, arms, breasts, feet, hands, stomach. You name it.

The events that lead people to harm themselves can be anything. From stress to rape, abuse, or other things that happened to someone in their past. Even in their present.

In my journey through recovery, I’ve found that so many people in this world are uneducated on the severity and seriousness of self harm. “Freak. Emo. Worthless. Attention seeking. Crazy” I don’t think they realize how much pain and frustration one needs to be in to take a razor to their own skin. I don’t think they realize the addiction. Telling someone who self harms to “Just get over it” or “Suck it up” is like telling a drug addict to stop taking drugs. It’s the same thing. There’s the addiction. Attempts to recover. Relapses.

It’s okay to be broken. It’s okay to be shattered. Because there’s someone out there willing to fix you. There’s someone out there who wants you here. Who wants you to get better. Who knows what your going through and wants to help you out of the rut you’ve been stuck in for so long. That person could be your boyfriend. Girlfriend. Teacher, family member. Or it could even be me.

You can do this. You’re better than those who bring you down. You’re stronger than what’s happened in the past. I believe in you.