Hey so I have these 3 best friends. We're not a group or anything, neither of them really know eachother. Anyway I want to tell one of them atleast that I self harm and have been having a really hard time emotionally and mentally lately. My only issue is that they all said if I ever hurt myself they would tell someone, aka parents. I don't want my parents to know. I have a really big trip coming up (foreign exchange) and I can't have that being taken away from me. What do I do? I need someone to talk to, someone who atleast knows what I am going thorugh.
Hey, you always have EC. I used to self harm, so I understand the hesitation towards having adults finding out about it. Maybe you could try to get into therapy? Therapists will give you positive coping mechanisms rather than just making you feel guilty for self harming. If nobody knows about your mental issues, you could always just play it off as being stressed in school. Anyways, I wish you the best and my wall is always open.
I am interested in therapy and stuff llike that but I am a minor and still live with my parents, so not really an option
Why don't you want your parents to know? Will they react badly? If you want therapy then as a minor on your parents' health insurance, it will have to go through them. Please get help while your a minor and its easily accessible and your willing to try it. I never got help and now i'm 25 and covered in scars. I haven't been able to wear a swim suit or shorts in years. Plus, let me be brutally honest, but its scary as fuck the first time you nearly take it too far - i didn't go to the hospital even though looking back i probably should have.
I don't want my parents to know because I'm worried they will treat me differently. There is also the major mental health stigma, especially in the military and we are a military family. I'm worried with how they will react. I don't want to be a burden to them.
Fact of the matter is, they probably will treat you differently, BUT they will get over it. I would urge you to ask for help, i can completely understand not wanting people to know, especially your parents, but what are your other options? Suffer in silence? Cut too deeply and injure yourself? I say all this with so much compassion and empathy. I understand, my mum found out about my self harm when i was 17 and it was horrible. I didn't go through the right methods to help myself and here i am, almost 29 and i still self harm. I ended up in hospital, not for the first time i might add, because i hit an artery. Scary stuff. You deserve better than this pain and there are ways to deal with this. The first step is reaching out, it's scary but the other option is scarier. You don't want to be plagued by this for years to come. Good luck lovely.
https://www.7cups.com ^ this is great site if you just need to talk it out (there's also options x for free therapy) I'm understand the SH things and honestly it's important to really think through everything before sharing because telling the wrong person and the wrong time can make things worse during a difficult time. If you need to chat, please send me a message or post on my wall. I have quite a bit of personal experience in this area and would love to help any way I can.
I agree with the above posters. You need to get help as soon as possible. Self harm behaviors will not go away on their own and will only get worse. If your parents care about you, they will do their best to help you even if they don't understand right away. As someone who came out to one of their parents about self harm, I understand the trepidation. But please seek help. You deserve it. Sebby45
Please do your best to stop. One of my friends had severe mental health issues and didn't get proper support. A good social network is never enough. I was the only help my friend got and she kept getting worse and worse. Friends can help, but professionals know what they're doing. A lot of pressure, responsibility and stress can be put on friends of people going through rough times. Going to a school therapidt is your best bet. Tell them about your military situation and problems you are facing, but try to avoid telling them about the self harm at first (unless they ask. Don't lie.) Some legal things get involved and it might make the situation worse. The therapist needs to know that you're not a serious danger to yourself/others. note: i'm not condoning self harm, this is just from my personal experiences