how can i stop her from cutting?

Question

have a friend and she cuts her arm/wrist a lot. She says it makes her feel better and she says that she let's it bleed out while she sleeps and im so afraid she might accidently die or something!! what can i do????

she says that i am one of the only 2 ppl she trusts and if i tell she would loose her trust and im afraid that might push her over the egdge and she might do something... she talks about suicide all the time but says she won't do it... but still.

Answer 1

Give her the fiction book, you can find it at the library, "Sharp Objects" by Gillian Flynn.

I think she will like it, it might cause her to think, let her know she is not alone.

Answer 2

I think as a close friend, you have a moral and ethical obligation to get some intervention here. Coz she is endangering her life. Imagine, if you were the cutter, how would you feel? Wouldn't you want someone to help you, esp your close friend? Obviously, you care a lot for her, that is why u posted this question, and I really think you must be a very nice and genuine person. What you can do, I feel, is first and forement, try not to leave her alone and lonely. Hopefully, u stay in the same city? Spend time with her, hang out with her, go places with her, make her laugh, listen to her. Ask her, what's *really* troubling her? I am not saying u need to be a psychologist, but get an idea about what's truly bothering her? Is it her grades, is it her relation with her parents, is it her bf, is it a heartbreak. Once u know the problem, u can think of solutions. Tell her that anytime she feels like cutting, she needs to call you. She needs to see a therapist for sure, but, I really feel, that you can help a lot yourself just by being there, understanding, and looking for solutions to whatever's hurting her inside. Keep encouraging her and motivating her to see the joy in life....and to see her own potential and dreams.

Answer 3

Maybe you should talk to her into seeing someone or talking to someone about it. I have a friend who is like that too, she says the experience is like all the pain draining away from herself. Thus making it tolerable. Your friend may have some issues she needs to deal with, with someone more on a professional level or may be just someone that can refer her or guide her in the right direction, like a suicide hot line or crisis counseling over the phone. You are a good friend to be there for her, but you cannot carry her burden around with you for the most part, you have your own life to lead also. This is something she needs to take care of.

Answer 4

More often than not, when a person constantly contemplates suicide, the option seems "really nice" when things get particularly difficult or stressful.

If you really care about her and are comfortable, tell her how much it worries you when she does this. Tell her to be honest and that you're being honest, too. When she brings it up (and let HER be the one to do it, if you're that worried about her loosing trust in you for it - however, if she talks about killing herself a lot, that's when you disregard personal preference for safety) tell her how much YOU would miss her, even if she thinks nobody else would.
Spend as much time with her if it worries you badly enough. Just make sure she knows you're not judging her for it. Say, for example, that you hadn't judged her up to this point, so why would that change simply by talking about it?
That's one thing that may jump-start the attempt/s - judging harshly or being treated like you're about to. The one thing you want to reinforce is how much this person means to you.
Hell, if she's comfortable with it (or, in some cases, even if she isn't) give her a hug every now and again. You'd be surprised how much it makes a difference when you use physical contact to make a person open up more.
There may be a deep-seated reason behind it. Then again, she may just ponder the idea for no reason. Just don't treat her too differently than you already do if she trusts you that much already.
A way of spending more time with her would be to hang out, in public, at places you both like and feel comfortable at. Just talk...if there IS a reason, that might be the perfect way to get it out in the open.
If anybody else you know really likes her in any way (that isn't harmful, of course) then get together with them, even if they don't know what's going on behind-the-scenes.
(If you're able, you could throw her a Merry Un-Birthday party - for lack of a better term...doesn't need to be for any special occasion but to make her feel better.)

Just make sure that, if it gets to a certain point, she gets the help she needs. She'll probably come out all the better for it, even if she does get mad at you to begin with. Temporary anger or pain is much easier to deal with than permanent "solutions" - just make sure that she knows whatever you do for her, you're doing because you care.

Be careful and I hope you both get what you need out of it.

Answer 5

Best thing for you to do is to inform your nearest school administrator or health officer. Explain the problem to them and about your concern and they will keep the secrets for you.

Your friend will suspect that you squealed on her but you can always deny it-how can you hide self inflicted wound scars?
I know it is bad to lie when you deny it but the bottomline is. like you said you love your friend dearly and you don't want her to die.

This is a psychological problem that can only be resolved by professionals so don't have second thoughts and If you cannot muster enough courage to approach the authorities then type a letter and send it. No one will know

Dear Sir/ MAdam;
I notice this girl has scars on her wrist and ...bkabka bla

Answer 6

You have a very good reason to be concerned about your friend. I think you should talk to your parents at least your mom
You don't have to tell her your friends name but find out what she thinks if you don't want to do that then call a suicide hot line and see what they can tell you. I am glad your friend has you the key is to find out what is going on when she feels she needs to cut to stop the pain and help her deal with it if possible. Hope this helps

Answer 7

i think that you should really seek her some help!! i know she is your best friend but, if something really does happen to her the last thing you want to do is live the rest of you life wondering what would have happend if you seeked her some help? suicide is the worst thing to even talk about...you should talk to and tell her how you feel about what she is doing and then go from there. if she trust you so much then she should trust you when you want to seek her some help...this is something she should never fool around with.

Answer 8

The best thing you can do for her is to talk her into getting a professional help. Maybe you can call around for her and find a doctor, support group, psychologist that specializes in dealing with people who cut themselves. Obviously, she's been abused, in some way, and maybe she feels that when she cuts herself, at least she's controlling the pain that has become the only way of life she knows.

Answer 9

WOW. umm, tell her all the harmful things that can happen to her if she continues cutting, like search it then get a mental list. lol, but have a serious talk with her and tell her the only reason you say this is because u care, and if she doesn't stop she OR YOU will need to find help. tell her cutting herself does not make her problems ":bleed out" it makes her weaker and more prone to disease and infection, and then after all that her problems are still inside of her.

=) hope it helps.

Answer 10

You can trust your friend not to accidentally cut too deep, but talking about suicide could be a problem. If she is open to suggestions, ask her to keep a thick rubberband around her wrist. When she feels the urge to cut, she should pop the rubberband against her skin. This is how I stopped cutting.

Answer 11

When I was 15 i had a sister that we didn't know that she cut up to until one day I walk in and saw her arm, at first she shyed away from me but I went to her as a loving brother and talked to her about not doing this that i love her and can't see her die, Well things started to look good for her until she got in her moods swings and she cut up again and this time she died. My Sister died in my arms; so i tell you talk about what bothers you and trust yourself and you will live a long life..