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[chopsuey]

Admin: Post removed, poster banned.

[-Amanda-]

I'm going to be honest here...  I used to self-harm, using mostly safety pins (sometimes even sewing needles).

I was extremely depressed at the time, thinking of suicide almost every night, mostly because I had absolutely no friends and felt like my whole family had it in for me.

I feel perfect now. So, In my opinion, self-harm *is* something people may grow out of. As for other mental illnesses, I don't believe you can just "grow out of" some. Yes, self-harm is a big deal, but not as traumatizing as other illnesses.

[Zwheels]

well  i shouldn't reply to this topic but im going to .. i started to do a form of this when i was about 10 years old. never did get help with it, and i still do it. i don't think i will ever stop.

[Kadee]

As a mother of an adolescent girl, I have to say that she does not self harm ( mostly she is to over confident in herself and drives us nuts-lol)
but she does have many freinds who do.  It does not seem to be to uncommon among them.  I seem to remember reading or seeing something on TV about the pyscological aspects of young  teen girls  practicing this.  And they mentioned something about expressing emotional pain through cutting and self harm.  It is very difficult for them to comprehend all the feelings and changes they go through in early adolescence and they use it as a way of coping.  So I can see where a child would grow out of this as they mature and figure out who they are.  I can remember doing things like carving initials in my arm with a razor blade when I was maybe 13-14, but it was more of getting attention for me.

[Miss Angel Dust]

It seems to be of growing popularity with adolescents today. It is usually associated with depression, but people can do this to themselves while having no mental illness.

I used to do various things that fall into this category, but I grew out of it. A lot of people grow out if, but some do not. It's just one of those things that one day you realize what you're doing, or just stop doing it. Or, you may continue doing it. I don't think having a mental illness has much to do with it. From what I've read, most people do it to cope with their emotions. It can include cutting yourself, burning yourself, or anything else that is purposely harming.

In most cases, it isn't considered being suicidal. The people that do this may have thoughts about suicide, but most of these people aren't trying to kill themselves.

Yeah, I'm quite fascinated with it. So I read.

[Chippy]

I've done this. Never with the intention of seriously injure or kill myself. I never did it in a place that was easily visible, so I didn't do it for attention. I've had issues with overeating and poor body image. I'm 5'3" and 125lbs, much of which is muscle. I'm far from fat. I used self-harm as a way to punish myself for overeating. There is a tally-mark scar over my hip bone (4 verticle lines and one diagonal going through them). I'd make a hash every time I stuffed myself. I've also scratched the word "SWINE" onto my stomach. I haven't done this for a while. I would always sterilize the knife and clean the cuts, so I was far from insane. I knew what I was doing.

[invisiblechick83]

first of all, all the information you could ever possibly need on self harm/self injury is on this website (along with a forum): http://www.recoveryourlife.com


I started cutting after a failed suicide attempt when I was 15, (I'm 22 now) and I still haven't stopped.  I don't think I ever will.  I have more than 100 visible scars, and about 20-30 very noticable scars on my arms.  This is my only coping mechanism for my chronic depression and anxiety dissorder.  Everyone I know thinks I stopped years ago.  Not only do I cut, I also burn, scratch, and pick too. In the last few years SH has become an epidemic, although I believe that many of the younger teens are doing this as some sort of screwed up fad.  The only reason I am still alive today is because of my warped method of coping with my life.

I know this sounds really messed up, especially to those who have never even considered harming themselves, but I felt as though I needed to put my 2 cents in. :-#

[Sanitarium]

In the last few years SH has become an epidemic, although I believe that many of the younger teens are doing this as some sort of screwed up fad.

You took the words right off my keyboard!  

 Good post...

[Miss Angel Dust]

It is somewhat of a fad. If you look around on the internet there are tons of sites where it tells you the best methods, how to do it without people noticing, and things of that nature. I noticed on Xanga (it's an online thing much like Myspace) just about every teenager was doing it. I think a lot of them do it for attention, or say they do it without harming themselves. I think, personally, it might be a way of getting attention that they might not normally get.

I've used it occasionally, and I'm not even exactly sure why. I was starting high school, and things got really tough for me. I started hating myself and seeing the cuts in my skin...I thought I deserved it. Since then, I've found other ways to cope with it. They were never really deep, but the point is I did it. I didn't do it for attention, or for the love of pain (though it did play a minor role), but because I thought I deserved it. I couldn't express my emotions openly, so I had to find a way to deal with them.

I don't think I have a mental illness of any sort. I'm only 15 years old, but I read many psychology books and own a few as well. The people that do it now that are my age seem to be doing it for attention. There are people that call themselves the "emo" kids because of the music they listen to. The guys (and you can prove this by going to Xanga.com) often talk about how no one loves them in their posts. They say that they cut themselves and they come from abusive families. Whether this is true or not, I can't tell you. But it seems that if you're "emo" then you do it to fit in to the "emo" community. It can exist on it's own without mental illnesses.

It's also becoming a problem in colleges, most of the students doing this being girls. I read that on MSN, but I don't have the link. If I find it then I'll post it on here. I'm not saying that I know these people, or even know what they're going through. These are just what I've observed and my own personal experiences.

[Bri]

is self harming always associated with a mental illness, many children, more adolecent girls, have been known to selfharm but then go on to live perfectly normal lives, is it something many people grow out of and if so is it possible to grow out of any other mental illnesses or do they usually get worse with age or do they stay the same?

Howdy, chopsuey!  I haven't been on here lately...well, for quite a loooong time actually and I haven't met you yet, so HI!  I guess I thought I may have something valid to put here (or not), but eh...  

I guess you could call me one of the girls that "have been known to self-harm and go on to live a perfectly normal life."  The thing is...it's not at all perfectly normal, for nothing really is.  Yes, I have depression and I did when I started cutting in 6th grade.  That young, I had no idea that other people did what I did and I thought that I was the most horrible ~thing~ on the face of this Earth for doing it in the first place.  Yes, there were a ton of factors that played into why I was cutting in the first place and I did use it as a way to escape...  Everytime I cut it was like an out-of-body experience.  It wasn't until I was fully...er...done that I even realized the magnitude of what actually happened and what I had actually done to myself.  I was so hurt inside and there was not physical symptoms for that pain...  I guess...I made my own and eventually my pain seemed valid because something was there...I saw something besides just feeling it...

Well...I got a little off the point I wanted to make...  Ok...  Well, the thing is is that it never goes away...at least for me.  Some things get overwhelming and I think about it...I just want to "get out."  I mean, I was a cutter from 6th grade until my senior year of high school...that's a long time!  The urge doesn't go away over night.  It develops like a drug addiction and it ends in much the same way...re-lapses.  I think it ebbs...  I may think of it out of the blue and it comes and goes...  Depression ebbs...  Some days it's a stronger than others, as is anxiety...  I don't think you can really "grow out of it"...  The way of coping gets better and the way you treat your illnesses gets better, but they never just leave...  So no...self-harming isn't ALWAYS associated with mental illness...  Self-harming isn't really something that one "grows out of" (you just develop better ways to deal) and while someone does self-harm; the urge to do it comes and goes at varying degrees...

Well, hopefully I helped you a bit!  

Again...nice to meet you, chopsuey!

Bri

[Brooke]

I started cutting at a very young age.  It became so bad that I was "put away" many many times.  At 19 cutting...as well as a few minor quriks upstaris... landed me in Danville State Hospital.  I was in for 11 months and when I got out i vowed never to do that again.  I learned to never say never because after 5 years of not cutting I "relapsed".   It landed me right back into a hospital.  Its only been about a month, but i guess i feel ok.  

I thought I had grown out of it, but at 25 years old I don't know if I ever will.  It is an addiction just like drugs, alcohol, sex and the works.  what i'm tring to start up in my area is a support group, so-to-speak.  I live in a very over crowded mental health city.  The state hospital among others are right up the road from me and alot of people come to the city I live in.
I know I need to get better myself before I try to help someone else, hopefully in time i will.  With my personal background and my job(mental health worker) I think I have a lot to offer...sorry tooting my horn   .

I encourage anyone who is dealing with this to talk to someone.  I know it's painfull, but it's even more so if you let it in.[/list][/quote]

[kae]

someone close to me has been in and out of area hospitals for most of their teen years. it's very hard to deal with. in this person's case it wasn't just a "fad" but a part of being MD and a few other things to boot. i can say, though, it's been about 4 years since they last did it (which i'm very proud of for 'em).

i have a question for some of you (since this topic is back to active) .. what would you consider scarification?

that's basically what i used to do, but i never did it because i was sad, upset, or .. anything of the like. i mean, i used to do (and still do) all of my own body piercings, too.

second question (i guess, lol).. do you consider scarification/piercing/etc as a form of self-harm? "cutting?" etc?

[Tommeh!!!]

oooooooooh, nooo! why do we have to talk about this. its such a sad thing to talk about. i used to for years, but now im onto 7 months of a clean slate....which im very proud of. but meh...i cant explain now...maybe later...

[Brooke]

what would you consider scarification?


second question (i guess, lol).. do you consider scarification/piercing/etc as a form of self-harm? "cutting?" etc?

I think scarification is anything you do to your body that would produce scars for your enjoyment...ie..branding, cut art, major piercings, suspention (<--something I would love to do sometime!)  i don't think getting your ears pierced is really scarification.  The godfather of that whole movement is Fakier Musafar (sp?).  I know the first name i sp wrong, but do a search on the last name at least and you should come up with something.  It's very interesting.  A good book to look into is called "Bodies Under Seige".

[kae]

what would you consider scarification?


second question (i guess, lol).. do you consider scarification/piercing/etc as a form of self-harm? "cutting?" etc?

I think scarification is anything you do to your body that would produce scars for your enjoyment...ie..branding, cut art, major piercings, suspention (<--something I would love to do sometime!)  i don't think getting your ears pierced is really scarification.  The godfather of that whole movement is Fakier Musafar (sp?).  I know the first name i sp wrong, but do a search on the last name at least and you should come up with something.  It's very interesting.  A good book to look into is called "Bodies Under Seige".

no no, i know peircing isn't scarification, lol. i meant, do you consider scarification and/or piercing to fall under "self harm" ..

also, i'm sure people have different views, which is why i posed the question.