Status: Never give up. You are enough.
No One Said It'd Be Easy.
Self Harm.
On many occasions, people assume self-harm refers strictly to cutting or burning oneself . However, self-harm varies from cutting to eating disorders to self emotional abuse. Did you know three million Americans self-harm? Also, eight million people in the United States suffer from eating disorders and three-fourths of teens who struggle with depression never get help. Self-harm is a subject that makes people uncomfortable; it’s misunderstood and ignored. But, the reality is, every forty seconds someone dies from suicide so it’s time for self-harm to steal the spotlight so society can acknowledge the seriousness of the matter.
“What’s that on your arm?” He asks the beautiful girl sitting next to him in class.
“Oh, this? My cat scratched me.” She replies forcing a shy smile and quickly pulling down her sleeves. Along her arms lay wounds from a battle she is fighting with herself and across her face, a gorgeous bright smile stays. But, as many people know, smiles can hide a whole other world. What the world doesn’t see is the pain she desperately tries to disguise in her eyes.
“Sweetie, you’ve lost a lot of weight.” A concerned mother states handing her son an apple and waving as he leaves for school.
“I haven’t really noticed. I’ll eat more.” He reassures his mother kissing her on the cheek and walks out the front door. What he really wanted to say was, “No I haven’t, liar. I still weigh too much. I just need to lose three more pounds. Just three more pounds and I’ll be perfect.”
“Are you with us?” The teacher asks her as she is zoned out once again.
“Yes ma’am.” The student reassures her teacher trying to pay more attention. Except no matter how hard she tries, her thoughts always get the best of her. “You’re ugly. You’re worthless.” They scream in her ear. She tries to use her eyes to cry for help, but she can only hear these tormentors.
Every person in this world is fighting a war only they know about. Every person has scars; some physical, others lay under the skin invisible to the naked eye. And everyone has different ways of coping with their war. To cope with these battles, some people turn to the razor. Others push their plate away and some develop thoughts that kill them from the inside out. But these are unhealthy coping mechanisms. What the world doesn’t know is how serious these battles can be. The world doesn’t know the amount of self-hatred, the little self-worth a person needs to feel to be able to intentionally harm themselves. Regardless of the form of self-harm, it’s still incredibly serious.
While self harm is not a suicide attempt, those who self harm are more likely to attempt or complete suicide than those who don’t. Most people who self-harm are trying to get away from reality, from their troubles. Self-harm is often used as an escape or a release of stress, sadness, pain, etc. “…not in a heartbeat do I think self-harm is a good or positive thing…but there’s a reason people do it” (The Truth About Self-Harm). As previously stated, self-harm is a coping mechanism for intense emotional feelings. For many people, self-harm brings a sense of control and temporary relief.
There is a wide variety of reasons people inflict harm upon themselves. They include: abuse, bullying, low self-esteem, problems with sexuality, depression, anxiety, stress, feeling isolated, etc. There are also a lot of myths about self-harm being solely for attention. But, even if a person self-harms for attention, it doesn’t mean it should go ignored. Self-harm is very easy to get addicted to and can cause a lot of pain to a person physically as well as emotionally. “Most self-harm is actually done in secret, for a long time it can be hard for young people to find enough courage to ask for help” (The Truth About Self-Harm).
In today’s society, appearance is everything a lot of the time, especially to teenage girls. In fact, fifty percent of girls ages eight to fourteen are dieting. And at least one in five woman and one in one million men are struggling with an eating disorder. “It is also estimated that eight million Americans have an eating disorder: seven million women and one million men,” says the South Carolina Department of Mental Health. Ninety-five percent of those who have eating disorders are in between the ages of twelve and twenty-five.
In today’s teens, there are a lot of harsh words being said. I think a lot of the time these words go unnoticed because it was just a joke or didn’t have intent to hurt someone. But a lot of the time, teens – as well as adults – don’t realize that words hurt. When such things like, “Oh, go kill yourself,” and “Your butt does look too big in that dress,” and “Cutting is ‘emo’,” are said, it causes a lot of grief to the victims of these words.
I chose to write about self-harm because I believe it’s important for the word to get out there, for the world to acknowledge the pain many people are facing. Self-harm does occur. It probably happens more than you expect and it is a very serious issue. Self-harm is addictive and scary even for those who are doing it. There comes a point where everything gets overwhelming and the only option, at the time, seems to be cutting, burning, throwing up, bringing you down, etc. But, it’s not. Self-harm is never the answer and it doesn’t solve any problems; it only expands the problems you may be facing. Take this information from a teen who has had firsthand experience with self-harm. I’ve had many people who struggle with self-harm in my life. I’ve watched them go ignored even when parents, friends, family, teachers knew about their addiction.
Several anonymous teens from my life quote:
“Cutting has always been a release for me, from the stress of school, work, home problems, everything. My razor has been there for me when no one else was.”
“I never considered myself to have an E.D. (eating disorder). I thought it was okay to only eat chips for dinner. But it’s not. I lost a lot of weight in a short time and no one noticed. In fact, I got praised for how skinny I got even though I only weighed 107 pounds and being five foot five.”
“Emotional abuse was something I grew up with. My dad was always putting me down so I guess I just kept doing it to myself even after he left. My thoughts began to control me. My grades slipped, I pushed my friends and family away; it was as if I wanted to be unhappy and I was for a long period of time. It took a lot for me to seek help and recognize that I wasn’t’ okay. And the things I was doing to myself weren’t okay either.”
“All around me were these stick thin models that I was supposed to live up to. Once I started, it got easier and easier not to eat. I thought once my body changed, my self confidence would go up. But it was the opposite. I looked in the mirror and saw myself wasting away and hating myself for getting to that point and hating myself even more for not being able to break it.”
For those of you who have ever self-harmed, know it’s okay to get help, you’re not alone. And for those who know someone who self-harms, it’s okay to get them help and to help them. Honestly, the worst thing you can do to a person who self-harms is to let them do it.
Self-harm is something that can be prevented. I know it’s an uncomfortable subject and largely misunderstood, but it’s also a subject that needs to be addressed.
“What’s that on your arm?” He asks the beautiful girl sitting next to him in class.
“Oh, this? My cat scratched me.” She replies forcing a shy smile and quickly pulling down her sleeves. Along her arms lay wounds from a battle she is fighting with herself and across her face, a gorgeous bright smile stays. But, as many people know, smiles can hide a whole other world. What the world doesn’t see is the pain she desperately tries to disguise in her eyes.
“Sweetie, you’ve lost a lot of weight.” A concerned mother states handing her son an apple and waving as he leaves for school.
“I haven’t really noticed. I’ll eat more.” He reassures his mother kissing her on the cheek and walks out the front door. What he really wanted to say was, “No I haven’t, liar. I still weigh too much. I just need to lose three more pounds. Just three more pounds and I’ll be perfect.”
“Are you with us?” The teacher asks her as she is zoned out once again.
“Yes ma’am.” The student reassures her teacher trying to pay more attention. Except no matter how hard she tries, her thoughts always get the best of her. “You’re ugly. You’re worthless.” They scream in her ear. She tries to use her eyes to cry for help, but she can only hear these tormentors.
Every person in this world is fighting a war only they know about. Every person has scars; some physical, others lay under the skin invisible to the naked eye. And everyone has different ways of coping with their war. To cope with these battles, some people turn to the razor. Others push their plate away and some develop thoughts that kill them from the inside out. But these are unhealthy coping mechanisms. What the world doesn’t know is how serious these battles can be. The world doesn’t know the amount of self-hatred, the little self-worth a person needs to feel to be able to intentionally harm themselves. Regardless of the form of self-harm, it’s still incredibly serious.
While self harm is not a suicide attempt, those who self harm are more likely to attempt or complete suicide than those who don’t. Most people who self-harm are trying to get away from reality, from their troubles. Self-harm is often used as an escape or a release of stress, sadness, pain, etc. “…not in a heartbeat do I think self-harm is a good or positive thing…but there’s a reason people do it” (The Truth About Self-Harm). As previously stated, self-harm is a coping mechanism for intense emotional feelings. For many people, self-harm brings a sense of control and temporary relief.
There is a wide variety of reasons people inflict harm upon themselves. They include: abuse, bullying, low self-esteem, problems with sexuality, depression, anxiety, stress, feeling isolated, etc. There are also a lot of myths about self-harm being solely for attention. But, even if a person self-harms for attention, it doesn’t mean it should go ignored. Self-harm is very easy to get addicted to and can cause a lot of pain to a person physically as well as emotionally. “Most self-harm is actually done in secret, for a long time it can be hard for young people to find enough courage to ask for help” (The Truth About Self-Harm).
In today’s society, appearance is everything a lot of the time, especially to teenage girls. In fact, fifty percent of girls ages eight to fourteen are dieting. And at least one in five woman and one in one million men are struggling with an eating disorder. “It is also estimated that eight million Americans have an eating disorder: seven million women and one million men,” says the South Carolina Department of Mental Health. Ninety-five percent of those who have eating disorders are in between the ages of twelve and twenty-five.
In today’s teens, there are a lot of harsh words being said. I think a lot of the time these words go unnoticed because it was just a joke or didn’t have intent to hurt someone. But a lot of the time, teens – as well as adults – don’t realize that words hurt. When such things like, “Oh, go kill yourself,” and “Your butt does look too big in that dress,” and “Cutting is ‘emo’,” are said, it causes a lot of grief to the victims of these words.
I chose to write about self-harm because I believe it’s important for the word to get out there, for the world to acknowledge the pain many people are facing. Self-harm does occur. It probably happens more than you expect and it is a very serious issue. Self-harm is addictive and scary even for those who are doing it. There comes a point where everything gets overwhelming and the only option, at the time, seems to be cutting, burning, throwing up, bringing you down, etc. But, it’s not. Self-harm is never the answer and it doesn’t solve any problems; it only expands the problems you may be facing. Take this information from a teen who has had firsthand experience with self-harm. I’ve had many people who struggle with self-harm in my life. I’ve watched them go ignored even when parents, friends, family, teachers knew about their addiction.
Several anonymous teens from my life quote:
“Cutting has always been a release for me, from the stress of school, work, home problems, everything. My razor has been there for me when no one else was.”
“I never considered myself to have an E.D. (eating disorder). I thought it was okay to only eat chips for dinner. But it’s not. I lost a lot of weight in a short time and no one noticed. In fact, I got praised for how skinny I got even though I only weighed 107 pounds and being five foot five.”
“Emotional abuse was something I grew up with. My dad was always putting me down so I guess I just kept doing it to myself even after he left. My thoughts began to control me. My grades slipped, I pushed my friends and family away; it was as if I wanted to be unhappy and I was for a long period of time. It took a lot for me to seek help and recognize that I wasn’t’ okay. And the things I was doing to myself weren’t okay either.”
“All around me were these stick thin models that I was supposed to live up to. Once I started, it got easier and easier not to eat. I thought once my body changed, my self confidence would go up. But it was the opposite. I looked in the mirror and saw myself wasting away and hating myself for getting to that point and hating myself even more for not being able to break it.”
For those of you who have ever self-harmed, know it’s okay to get help, you’re not alone. And for those who know someone who self-harms, it’s okay to get them help and to help them. Honestly, the worst thing you can do to a person who self-harms is to let them do it.
Self-harm is something that can be prevented. I know it’s an uncomfortable subject and largely misunderstood, but it’s also a subject that needs to be addressed.