How to Help a Friend or Family Member Who Cuts or Practices Self-Injury
It is often very hard to come to terms with the fact that someone you care about is physically hurting themselves. There are, however, things that you can do and steps to take.
Below are some helpful tips to help someone who self-injures:
- Understand that self-harming behavior is about control- which in and of itself is a way of reducing stress, anger and bad feelings.
- Let the person know that you care about them.
- Listen!
- Offer to help this person to find a therapist, counselor or support group.
- Encourage the expressions of emotions: fear, anger, sadness.
- Find or make time doing something enjoyable with this individual.
- Avoid being judgmental or making judgmental comments.
If you are a parent and your child is self-injuring, contact your family doctor or mental health specialist.
What You Can Do Yourself If You Are Self-Injuring
Tell yourself:
- You are not a bad person. You need to realize that you are a good person not feeling good.
- You need to get help. You would get help if a headache did not go away or if your tooth hurt all the time. So, it’s time to get help for this too.
You need to trust one person. Seek out one person that you know will help you. Tell that person today! - Realize that self-injury is an attempt at make yourself feel better. There are other ways to make you feel better.
Treatment Facilities For Cutting & Self-Abuse
Contact your family medical doctor or insurance company for referral.
i will…i will tell a friend today. i think it time for me to get help..before its too late. thank u so much
ok ok 1st of all you guys are wrong about that counselor crap. when a teen cuts, a lot of them don’t want to have counselors because that just puts more pressure and stress. I am a teen who cuts her wrists and the reason I do is because I am under a lot of pressure and stress. Cutting my wrists is how I control the pressure and stress. I have 5 counselors and they just make it a hell of a lot worse. They expect too much out of me and they make me sick. Every time I walk into there offices I feel like I need to cut or like they want me to cut. So don’t put anything up on here unless you know what us teens who cut feel like!
As an adult retired cutter, in my 30s, you’ll find ways to deal with the pain when cutting isn’t working any more. The stress will get worse and you’ll need more coping techniques. If you have 5 counselors and none of them are helping, maybe its time you get honest and realize your life could be better if you allow someone to get close to you. As this site says, find someone you trust and allow them to help. Don’t empower other people to lose hope in finding help. It doesn’t have to be this way.
Tell yourself:
* You are not a bad person. You need to realize that you are a good person not feeling good.
* You need to get help. You would get help if a headache did not go away or if your tooth hurt all the time. So, it’s time to get help for this too.
You need to trust one person. Seek out one person that you know will help you. Tell that person today!
* Realize that self-injury is an attempt at make yourself feel better. There are other ways to make you feel better.
yes…there are better ways to reduce stress than cutting. read this ScottCounseling article: Cutting: Self-Injury Facts & Statistics
The person who is cutting has to want to stop….if they dont they’ll keep doing it. It doesnt matter how many people are wanting to help them….they need to want to stop. Trust me i would know….cause i do it all the time, it helps me. And for those people who think a person who cuts is suicidle there wrong.
May I am also a cutter and I’m gonna tell you something…I think you just cut because you want attention. You have no right to come on here and argue with what he is saying. Scott is 100% right.