HOW DID YOU TELL YOUR PARENTS ABOUT SH

[**Theresa**]

I was thinking about the time that my mom found out when i was SH and i wanted to know how everyone else told their parents

[Le bonheur*]

I put both "Someone else told them for you" and "They found out on their own". Let me explain. My abusive ex boyfriend told my father about me being sexually abused as a child AND that I self-harm over it because of the fact that we broke up. BUT. My mother and grandparents had suspected for a while because I had unexplained cuts and bruises and I was always coming up with some excuse so I guess they didn't get the truth about my self-harm until the dummy told them out of anger.

[Dez]

I wrote my guidance counselor a letter and she told them for me.

[Kate*]

I never told them, but I eventually stopped on my own. I don't even remember the last time I did it, but I think it was sometime in July maybe. Most of my urges are gone at this point.

[bnwhite]

I wrote my parents a letter back in May after I had been self-harming for 5 years. I just didn't have the courage to tell them to their face and see the hurt in their eyes. It was the only way I was able to let them in.

[Sincerely Yours ♥]

I actually have not told my parents & don't plan on it either. I don't do it very often & it's never been very serious.

[Revolution]

I told my father a long time ago and he didn't take me seriously at all. So I really never did tell them in which something was done about it.

[Magical Forest.]

I put, 'came out and just said it' and 'other'.
I was becoming extremely mentally unwell and had been telling people things that i'd been hallucinating, and word got round and people knew something wasn't right. So my mum and dad sat and talked to me, which was weird in itself as they were split up and not talking to each other so i knew there was something going on. They asked if what I said was true and I said no, but that I believed at the time it was real. They got angry with me so I just said 'by the way I cut myself too', to try to make them see how unhappy I was.

[Dark Horse]

I cut my arm open and I got shocked so I started crying and my mom heard me and took me to the emergency room.

[Roy-kun231]

My mom found out when she read my diary by accident. She confronted me about it, found out it was because of Gordon (my lil bro), and scolded him, then told me she'd get me help. That was in August. Still waiting for that "help" to come.

[little.seeker]

My brother found out and told my parents. I'm still waiting for that help they promised too. They found out on Christmas eve...I still haven't forgiven my brother for that. My parents ALWAYS makes things worse on me. I went to short term counseling for a while and the counselor told me that I needed more help than she could provide and suggested family counseling. I never got either.

[suicidaldreams]

First time I self harmed, I told my dad. And the cuts weren't that bad. The second time they were worse and covered my arm fairly well. I tried to hide it but one day i wore too short of a shirt and my sister saw the scars and asked me what was one my arm i just ignored her and said don't worry about it. That same day my dad also noticed them when i wasnt paying enough attention to hiding it. Thats when we started counseling. I didnt do it for a long time then i started again about a month or so ago. And have been doing it about every week. I was able to hide it. But then today my dad came into my room i had my sleeves rolled up and forgot to put them down, he noticed writing on my arm (which he doesnt want me doing). He asked me what i wrote, I told him Liar, he looked closer and he saw the cuts.
I didnt want him knowing because i didnt want him to blame it on himself.

[jlh528]

My mom and dad ended up finding out because someone at school had seen some old scars and told the social worker who then called my parents. After that I was forced to explain everything to them and attend counselling for 18months.

[abbiekadabbie]

a few years ago my sister saw cuts on my arm and she told my mom and my mom confronted me about it and i told her that i would stop and i did for a while but im still doing it and she doesnt know that i do it anymore.

[*Learningtobreathe*]

MY SISTER SAW THEM AND TOLD. it was the night of my cousins graduation so me and my older sister were doing our makeup and hair and she saw them and said trust me, it doesnt help. then she told my mom and stepdad who yelled at me for 20 minutes. tht was 2 years ago. it didn't help me at all.i still do it

[cb_]

I'd been doing it for nearly 2 years before I just came out and told my mom because I felt like I really needed help.

[WildHeart]

I had been self-harming for two years and I told my friend who made me tell my youth leader who told my parents...

[i_like_black]

School caught me (back at intermediate, nearly ten years ago), told the adolescent outpatient mental health services, who then told my parents.

I've always kept it hidden as much as possible, I hate people knowing. Even my current psychologist, who is the best I've ever worked with, struggles to get out of me when I have.

It's such a private, personal thing.

[Here.with.you]

I got in trouble by my pastor and he told them

[SoraKat]

I showed them my scars as a distraction to something... long story... xD it was like...

UHH LOOK AT MY ARM. NOT THERE... crap you looked there too.

crap...

[Nostalgia]

I have never told my parents, I don't intend to either, I think my mum has her suspicions though, as once I was in a restaurant with my mum and my grandma and my mum just sat there looked at me and asked me in a restaurant 'do you self harm' I looked at my mum a-bit shocked by the openness of the question and simply told her no.

Then a few months later at college my tutor saw my arm and questioned it, I simply told my tutor it was nothing , she left at that.(she asked me in front of the whole class)

But I do think that if in both situations I had not been asked so publicly I would have most likely said yes, and would have my tutor 'I did it to myself' but given the circumstances I was asked under I felt the best thing to do was to say no and to tell my tutor it's nothing.

[Troubled_Heart]

On holiday my mum saw the scars but I denied it and although she made a big deal of it I pretended it was cat scratches... Then I moved places of cutting and I think she's forgotten about it or has decided to let it go. Never plan on telling her but I'm guessing she'll find out one day by herself seeing my scars

[FriendZoneMayor]

My parents went through my stuff and found the knife I kept between my mattress and box spring. The only reason I know is because it magically disappeared though. They've never said a word about it to me...

[StargazingDragon]

A friend I thought I could trust told the school counsler and of course she had to call my mom and she flipped out on my dad and we had some family convention crap and she threw me into counseling.

[Bella xx]

I put "someone else told them for you" because I was forced to see the school councillor after my house burnt down when I was 12. When I was 13 he first discovered that I cut my wrist and he gave me either option to stop, or else he would tell my parents. I promised him that I would stop and cut my legs instead, which he never saw. But one day my bf dumped me because he had the hots for some other chick and I lost it and shreded my arm. The councillor saw them and called my parents...

[BtotheT]

I have never told them because I know if I did,or they found out, it would kill them.
I can't imagine what would happen if they found out. I just know that it would be horrible because they hate to see me sad.
That's why I am trying to stop.

[bayhorse321]

My older sister saw my scars on a cruise boat and made a huge thing about it. She promised not to tell my mom but of course she did and it was hard or I thought it was but it turns out that she still doesn't care.

[Aubrie]

My mom somehow found the key to my diary and read it. After a while, she believed that I had stopped. I hadn't; I talked to my youth leader and came home late. She blew up saying that I didn't call/text her (I did), so I said something like, "I'm sorry that I want to stop cutting myself and need help!" Once more, after a while, she thought that I had stopped. My friend found out, told her dad (a family friend), who called my mom over to his house and told her.

So yeah, my mom has found out 3 separate times. First, on her own. Second, I told her. Third, a friend's parent.

[chocolateluver]

My parents don't know and never will!

[Boxy]

My mom found out on her own but I still denied it. Probably looked like an idiot too, but oh well. She doesn't know that I've done it any since she found out though.

[kitten9007]

Without saying a word, I just rolled up my sleeves and showed my mother the cuts. (this was maybe a week after I started cutting) she started crying and yelling about how she was a failure of a parent, asking what she did wrong, etc. She proceeded to smack me, take my scissors, and make me stay in my room until the next morning... not the best experience haha xD

[Discombobulated]

My school told my parents after a friend told a teacher.

[I'm-moving-on]

I haven't, and never will, not because they would do anything about it. They would blame me, yell, and then forget about it, like always.

[Thirteen]

Never have told them. I surely hope they never find out. To be fair, they have a very stigmatizing view on mental illness. Same reason I have seen mental health professionals behind their backs.

[1yr1a]

my mum n dad found out when i had to go hospital :/

[Palmolive]

My school nurse held a meeting with the pastrol support officer, my head of year and with my mum and told her then.

[Lottie]

A few of my teachers had noticed my arms. They started speaking to each other and one day I started speaking to one of my teachers because I was genuinely scared of myself and she told me all the teachers know. I went home and my dad came up to my room and spoke to me about it. This was the first time around.

Second time around they never found out.

[sammy12]

i put they found out on their own, cause i used to do karate and whne ever i was in a fight my arm would bleed cause a scab had been knocked. I wasnt happy with seing my mom crying but i needed her to know i was hurting inside