I'm 16 and self-injure (cutting and a few other methods). Should I get help?

Question

I've been doing this since I was 12. No one has ever found out, and now it's getting to be like an obsession. I know that I should probably get help instead of asking on here, but I don't know if I can ask. The thing is my family. They're conservative Hindu and probably would disown me/ deny me the help I need/ignore it/or be very angry with me. So don't say that I should talk to them.

Answer 1

yes you should get help. that is not good for you. i will tell you how at the end of this comment (and no you will not have to tell your parents at all). your conservative family is so stifling for you that you feel a need to break free and can only do so by cutting yourself. i feel for you. i grew up in a very conservative mexican household and i have developed self-destructive habits myself. i am scared for you. i am now 30 and i am married to a man who is very relaxed and liberal and i feel much happier than i have ever been when i was in that household i grew up in (he is american). but it has left severe emotional trauma. i am seeing a therapist and take sedatives when i get too emotional to prevent a meltdown so i don't end up in the hospital. the last time i was in the psych ward was in 1997 and i haven't been back since. i have come very close to ending up in the hospital a lot in the past month that i have been married, but my husband has been there for me and that has helped.

if you are in the state of california, United States (I don't know if you live in another part of the world) you can get free confidential counseling with the local mental health clinic. the way to do that is to apply for minor consent medi-cal with the local welfare office. that is also confidential. you will get no mail about applying for medi-cal. you don't even have to give an address or phone number to the people at the welfare office in the state of california. (i don't know if that applies to other states in the U.S.) but you do need at least a student i.d. a state i.d. would also work, but it is not required. but you do need to go in to the welfare office every month and update your eligibilty since they can't contact you. minor consent medi-cal also covers free substance abuse counseling, free pregnancy services, abortion services, maybe birth control, free services for sexually transmitted diseases. ask the worker you talk to about minor consent medi-cal to refer you to clinics that provide the services it covers.

if you need to find another place to live in order to feel safe, the local welfare department also has child protective services. it may be scary, but they will find you a foster family who is licensed to help those under 18 who come from abusive households. Child protective services tries to reunite parents with their children only if it is safe for the child to do so. but they don't have to nor will they unless a judge in a court of law allows it. your parent's legal rights against you can even be terminated after a period of time in foster care. once you are18, you will have other services available to you to help you become and stay financially independent. there is even affordable housing you can be placed in while you go to college or maybe even work as an adult who was in foster care until the age of 18. child protective services has its flaws, but it is there as a resource to help abused kids.

i used to be an eligibilty worker for the welfare dept in kern county city of bakersfield, state of california, usa. again, i don't know where you live so i am trying to be as helpful as possible.

hang in there, i hope this helps, and e-mail me at [e-mail] if you ever need someone to talk to.

Answer 2

Since you don't want to talk to you're parents, your next best option would probably be your local doctor or another adult you trust such as a teacher, school councellor, a coach or maybe even a good friend.
Here is something that might help you in the mean time,
When you feel the urge to cut, put a rubber band around you're wrist and snap in hard. That way you are still getting the pain, but no risk of bleeding to death or infection.
You could also try distraction, such as doing something you enjoy, puzzles, crosswords, wordsearches, counting, or something else to keep you're mind busy when you feel the urge.
Hope you find the answer you're looking for. Good Luck : )

Answer 3

Talk to a school counselor. That would probably be the easiest thing to do at this point. Talk to them about your family as well as SI and everything else going on so that they understand the situation with your family and you can discuss how best to either tell them or get you help in whatever way would be best. You really need to find someone who will support you and help you.

Answer 4

S.A.F.E. Alternatives is a group dedicated to recoering self-harmers. They have a Log to track impulses that I've found very helpful in my recovery. I've never been in a formal recovery program, but I use this all the time. Grab a notebook and title it your SI Impulse Log. Each time you want to, grab it and log in the following:

1. What You Want To Do (cut/burn/ect...)
2. Date and Time
3. Location
4. Situation
5. Feelings/Emotions
6. What You're Trying To Communicate Through SI
7. Action Taken (went ahead and did it, drew a picture, whatever)
8. Result Of Action

If you want any more advice, feel free to keep in contact.
[e-mail]
Just reference this in the subject.

Answer 5

You probably do need help if you self-injury is becomming an obsession. If you think that your family will not help you or allow you to get help you can try going to community mental health centers in your area. They are often free and are required to be confidential. Also, you can try these websites to find help from other self-injurers.

http://www.focusas.com/selfinjury.html...
http://www.palace.net/~llama/psych/injur...
http://buslist.org/phpBB/

Answer 6

This is a real problem. Your either going to go too far one day and bleed-out or just the same, eventually you will have many scars. The older you get the harder your body will heal from the cuts.

Answer 7

If you are going to school you might want to talk to the school nurse and ask her for some advice. You do need to get help and sometimes it helps for someone else to talk to your parents with or without you.

Answer 8

DON'T talk to the school counselor. They will contact your parents (btdt). Talk to your doctor. They are under the hipocratic oath not to devulge any information to your parents without your consent. The doc will be able to help you. You will have to tell your parents eventually because you will have to start to see a therapist for this disorder.

Answer 9

You should seek help....that's the first step...and opening up to your parents is somethign that needs to be determined by yourself with your therapist's input....

Find a good therapist so shop around if you need to....

Take care of yourself...if you don't...who will? (that's what I say now because I'm an adult now...but when I was a kid I always thought that my family would be there for me....boy was I way off)

Answer 10

Should you? Absolutely!
People who suggest talking to a doctor have good sense. A doctor who lives in your area could be confidential - and also know what resources in your area are available, confidiential, and helpful! Take care of yourself!!

Answer 11

Yes you should get help as quick as you can; before you really harm yourself. You don't need too tell you're family if you don't want too. I forget what you suffer from; but I did learn about it in my psy.class. Good luck and best wishes.