Self harm - it does get better

[englishteacher78]

I started DSH in Year 10 and continued right the way through A-Level and University and it remained my coping strategy when I started work.
I was very unhappy for a lot of reasons and never really got any treatment other than anti-depressants. My attempt at attending counselling was a complete disaster.
However, I took myself in hand, lost six stone, started running and other exercise and lots of other things started to fall into place.
I genuinely struggle to remember when I last harmed, certainly before I met DH, I think we're looking at 3-4 years now. I do worry now we're TTC that I may find things difficult again but I try to remain positive.
I've shared my story as I know my parents found it so difficult, and it seems to be a growing problem.
It can and does get better though - just be there for your DC, try not to be judgemental and remember it won't make sense to you, but it will to them. Treatment of whatever kind is difficult. If I'm honest I think marathon training is a displacement activity - but at least it's a healthy one

It's lovely to hear your story of recovery from self harming, thanks for sharing it. I hope a parent who has a self harming child will read it and see that things can change. Best wishes.

What a lovely insightful post and as a parent to teens I would never have thought about training as a therapy until I read your post.

So glad everything has worked out for you

Dear englishteacher, thank you so much for sharing your story. My 16 year old ds self harms. It breaks my heart. He is on medication and has a therapist he says he trusts. I worry about him constantly. Thank you for giving me hope for his future..x

bumping for daytime traffic

hi,

i've been wondering about posting about self harm for a couple of days.
I'm a very happy 27 year old but had a very difficult time as teenager, i did all sort of stupid things including cutting my arms.A lot.I have scars all over both arms, some really big ones.
After years of dealing with "hard" stuff, this is the one thing that still weighs on me as the scars are highly visible. I did spend a few summers wearing long sleeves but obviously that's rather uncomfortable.
I also feel that I can't spend the rest of my life hiding my arms so i do go out in short sleeves now, sometimes, when feeling brave enough, and depending on where I'm going and who I'm likely to come across
But it's really hard to deal with.

So I guess what I am asking is how do you cope with the scars?