Self-Injury Awareness Day

For those of you who don't know, today is March 1st... and March 1st is self-injury awareness day (or SIAD).

For those of you who don't know, self-injury is defined as inflicting deliberate harm on oneself without suicidal intent. This can include cutting, burning, hitting, and eating disorders. A common belief regarding self-injury is that it is an attention-seeking behaviour; however, in most cases, this is inaccurate. Many self-injurers are very self-conscious of their wounds and scars and feel guilty about their behaviour leading them to go to great lengths to conceal their behaviour from others. They may offer alternative explanations for their injuries, or conceal their scars with clothing. Self-injury in such individuals is not associated with suicidal or para-suicidal behaviour. The person who self-injures is not usually seeking to end his or her own life; it has been suggested instead that he or she is using self-injury as a coping mechanism to relieve emotional pain or discomfort. ((taken from wikipedia))

I have watched many of my friends struggle with self-injury or eating disorders. They were not attempting suicide or anything, they were just trying to deal with stress and their lives...

If you know someone like this... I understand your pain. It's something that is hard to deal with. It's hard to watch someone you love use something like this to deal with their lives... but it's part of reality. They are not trying to hurt those around them... they are actually trying to help them. They are trying to keep their emotions from spilling over... they are hiding, making everyone think they are ok.

If you know someone like this, you probably don't know what to do. First of all, don't overreact. Second, try to look at it from their perspective, try to understand. Third, don't jump to conclusions.

To Write Love On Her Arms (TWLOHA) is an organization that helps spread awareness and help about self-injury and suicide. Check out their website ( http://www.twloha.com/ ) to find out more information.

peace,
-Kaylyn