Self Injury Awareness Day
Today is Self Injury Awareness Day. It is a time when people choose to be more open about their challenge with self inury (self harm). If you see someone wearing an orange ribbon today, you now know precisely what it stands for!
So lets take the opportunity to look at some stories from around the web to create our own awareness on something that is affecting our teens and young women in particular.
Self harm is usually non suicidal by nature. Nonetheless, this does not mean it is not important enough to be discussed. We may not be patient with kids or teens or even adults that cut themselves because in our minds they are only calling for attention. But most times, self harm is done in secret as we will discover in our first story….
There are parents that are out there with smart kids that are doing self harm. In our first article, a mother describes her horror and shock on discovering her 15 year old ‘confident, level-headed and normal’ daughter called Sophie (not her real name) doing precisely that. She discovered Sohpie’s self harm only when Sophie had developed a serious life threateing bacterial infection from a self inflicted cut. You can feel the emotions of the mother, nearly passing out on discovering a ‘ladder of fine scars’ as she descibes them on her daughter’s forearms. Worse, was that the daughter had deliberately allowed the latest wound to become infected.
Self harm is real. It is said to be on the rise. A WHO report highlighted a marked increase in self harm among UK teens and young women. Sophie told her mother for her self harm was a relief from intense pressure. Sophie had a lot going for her, yet had the pressures of her young life ‘pushed her over the edge’?
It is so easy to think that self harm only affects white middle class girls. But here is a story of a young man who became addicted to self harm.
But imagine this, as he writes… One psychologist told me that if they could bottle and sell the emotional assistance offered by self-injury, it would be one of the most effective anti-anxiety medications ever invented. Another told me I would most likely never stop needing to hurt myself. He was wrong.
He went to the professionals for a solution, and on this occasion, they offered him no hope whatsoever! The importance of finding the right mental health counsellor can never be overemphasised.
Thankfully, however over time, he recovered with determination and having the right people around! The latter obviously shows why stigma cannot be tolerated. Thankfully today, he has put the razor blades down permanently.
Finally, we have our own inspirational story from Carmen Rose who we interviewed some time ago on Defying Mental Illness. Carmen is a success story. Today she wears many hats as a singer, songwriter, dance teacher and event manager.
But that had not always been her story. Her grandmother’s death and ultimate divorce of our beloved parents led to eating disorders which gave way to self harm.
But her faith in Jesus, and her mum declaring positive words over her daily rubbed off on her, empowering her, showing the power of words. Carmen became a new person afterwards, always placing herself in empowering environments.
Today, all this is behind her and Carmen regularly hosts production shows with a difference…empowering and igniting others through music.
So what can we do?
##1 Study the Infographic below.
Although the statistics apply to those in the USA, wherever you are in the world, this may be similar. If you do not have available figures for your country, do not be fooled that this does not happen still. If the rates are low, make sure they get lower.
##2 Lets pay attention to the myths in the Infographic.
And adjust any negative concepts we may have had.
##3 And most of all share this post, re-pin or tweet it…
….So we do what is meant to be done on Self Injury Awareness Day! And that is to create and raise awareness!
Thank you.
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