Seven steps to be self-harm free By Jordan (MacGuffin) Millions of teenagers today struggle with the issue of self-mutilation, or the intentional self-infliction of bodily injury. According to a recent study published in Reuters, one in twelve teenagers are thought to engage in self-harming behaviors, with girls between the ages of 15 and 24 being at the greatest risk. In addition, people who self-harm pose an increased risk of suicide. According to the study, someone who is treated...

Article featured in Avatar - Volume 4, Issue 2 (August 2010). Loved Ones of those Who Harm By Casey (Casey.) Self harm is a very difficult thing to understand. It is scary to find out that your best friend or sibling is harming themselves. It is even scarier to learn that your child is cutting or otherwise hurting themselves as a way to cope. Most people don't understand exactly what self harm is; those who do may not know how to help. Self harm is just what it sounds like. ...

Article featured in Avatar - Volume 3, Issue 9 (March 2010). Self Injury by Emily (bringontherain) Self injury is intentionally hurting oneself to the point of causing tissue damage or leaving marks for more than a few minutes. About 1% of the population, three million people in the United States alone, have intentionally harmed themselves at some point in their lives. This intentional harm can range anywhere from scratching to limb amputation. The most common forms, especially in...

Article featured in Avatar - Volume 1, Issue 7 (December 2007). Self Harm by *xxjessxx* Self harm is a technique that some people use to try and cope with the things that are going on in their lives at that time. For some people expressing how they feel through emotions is way to painful, so they choose to let this pain out in a physical way - by hurting themselves. People who do this may feel angry, worthless, pathetic, frustrated, alone or depressed. Although these feelings make us...

Summers here! Now it’s getting into that summer season, we all see people wearing shorts, short sleeves and the like. All very good, but for some of us it isn’t that easy. We have that worry of our scars being on full show. I know it’s something I’m already worrying about, so to stop lots of the same thread and questions, I thought I’d make a list of the different cover-ups so it’s all together and neat :] I know there's lots of threads of people asking about how to cover up scars...

Have the urge to self harm? So, I see people around here all the time with strong urges to self harm. Let's go over something. The best definition of urge, as in urge to self harm, that I can find, is an "Instinctive Impulse". That does not say, that an urge is when you need to self harm. You never ever need to self harm. Remember it's a want. Like wanting ice cream on a hot day, or hot cocoa when you come in from the cold. Though wanting ice cream and hot cocoa are easier to say no to...