MENTAL HEALTH

International Self-Harm Awareness Day 2016

**trigger warning: mentions and detailed accounts of self-harm and reasons for self-harm**

Today - 30th November - is an important day for raising awareness of an extremely personal and complex issue.

Self-harm, also known as self-injury or self-mutilation, is a physical or evident manifestation of a mental health disorder and is generally used by neurodivergents as a coping mechanism.

People resort to self-harm as a way to escape, to release or feel 'something', to express guilt via a form of punishment. It can also be used as a way to feel in control of uncontrollable situations and emotions. Self-harming usually relieves feelings of isolation, sadness and anger - be it at oneself or something/someone else. However, people may also feel guilt - and other negative emotions - a while after a self-harming episode, so it becomes a vicious cycle.

The reason it is such a damaging way to fix something is because it is an impulsive action that stems from an irrational cognitive process - and although the life experiences and triggers may be devastatingly real and hard to escape from, it is not the ideal solution as it only provides short-term relief. Self-harming can be considered as an addiction as people crave the release it offers, and slowly but surely increase their dependency on it. However, instead of shaming these people and 'calling them out' on their destructive behaviour, we should aim to create a supportive environment where everyone and anyone can voice their struggles safely. We, here at Project Awesomesauce, want to do our bit to raise awareness of how detrimental these struggles are and so have invited some guest readers to talk about their experiences with self-harm.

Guest Writer 1: JoshBrooke2 ~

"So in a nutshell (very large nutshell) my experience with self harm has been on and off as it will have been with most. I find that self harm is therapeutic (still do not recommend it) for my emotional issues and any other personal issues that I may have, but that still doesn't mean that that is the only reason. Several turns of events on my life have led to depression that, at times, has been so painful that self harm actually helps relief the pain slightly. Even though I am ashamed of it, I still self harm to this day due to emotional/school issues and I find self harm to be the most effective way to distract me from those issues."

Guest Writer 2: Kristen {Not on Wattpad} ~

"Okie, ever since I was little, I kinda stuck with just a little bit of friends and I used to not be shy at all. I used to imagine a perfect world but it never really was a reality.

It started in 6th grade after I broke up with a boy. It took a while to realize that I still liked him but then I finally got over him (after like a year) and then I got really depressed and stuff, but I always learned to hide the pain PRETTY well and I liked to talk about it. It kinda just scared me too, because I used to talk to my friend about this stuff and she left me like this ,"You're gonna end up cutting- I don't know how to help you anymore. You need help" and then me and her stopped talking.

She got me to stop cutting but then after that I started cutting again, and then I started to cry every night. Also I have not been talking that much in school anymore and people don't even realize. I always feel invisible and I'm a waste of space and my parents always yell at me for nothing and then my brother calls me a fat fuck and "young man" and then my sister is perfect so I have that to be compared to.

Then I also met this girl and fell madly in love, and I'll tell you: I fell hard, and then we started flirting then eventually we started dating. She dumped me after 6 days and blamed it on her grandma. Then I did some digging and I think she cheated on me and my friend (my friend had no idea) and we ain't sure if she did still, but she lied to me so much- I know that. She hurt me more and more and I still go back to her and I still do. I'm kinda getting over her, but it still hurts me when I see her holding hands with another dude 11 days after we broke up and I thought I was worth more to her. We are still friends and I still have a crush on her that I'm giving up on, and I also met this other girl and I always imagined someone that was the "perfect person for me" and she fit the exact reasons and stuff and we are flirting and stuff but I kinda still like that other girl but I'mma have to get over it soon.