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Self harm: Rhian's perspective
Posted Tuesday 1 March 2011
A guest blog post for Self-Injury Awareness Day.
I’m one of those people who believes that you can’t understand something until you’ve experienced it yourself. I can never answer those hypothetical ‘what if?’ questions, because I just can’t be sure what I would do in any given situation, until I am in that situation. So I can get why some people don’t understand why others self harm, and why I self harm.
It is hard to truly explain the reasons behind why I cut, though other people may find it easier, and their own reasons more tangible. I suppose mine aren’t vague as I think, they just feel out of reach whenever I have to try and explain exactly why I cut. I often think I shouldn’t have to explain why, and maybe I shouldn’t, but the problem with that is everyone asks. Family, friends, doctors, kids, partners, strangers: everyone asks why. Of course, sometimes there is no 'why?'.
In the beginning I suppose there was a reason behind every time I self harmed, but that was over ten years ago and I'm long past those days when it was a desperate course of action, and into the days when it’s become an addiction. When it’s addiction it just becomes something you do when in crisis and also on a normal day, when there isn’t a reason, except that you haven’t for a while, or you have been cutting every day for a long time anyway.
I managed to stop for over 18 months, what people call an accomplishment, and I don’t deny that it is, but I was so convinced that it was over and done with, gone, another addiction I have battled and beaten: people told me the slip is nothing to beat myself up about, but I see it differently. Not necessarily as a failure, but nothing so simple as a ‘slip’. It was so much more than that, and another confirmation to me that self harm, self injury, cutting, whatever you want to call it, is addictive. You get past the place where you’re used to using it to cope, and get to a place where you can’t go without, regardless of what you may or may not be feeling.
Self harm has a bad reputation, and self harmers hate this: we’re called attention seekers, 'emo', 'mental', etc, but I kinda realise that it’s never going to be any better. It’s not like self harm can have a good reputation. Addictions are never good things. I can’t think of anything I’ve ever been addicted to that was good. I think what we want, as a community, is understanding and support. As an individual I want a little latitude, a little leeway — less questions.
Everyone is different, everyone has their own reasons for starting, for continuing, for stopping. Their own triggers and troubles. There is not one answer for everyone: some people respond to therapy, some to medication, some to a combination of these. Some people will grow out of it, for some it’s a phase; some will be self harming until they reach the grave. It’s the sad reality of it. I have no rose-tinted glasses when it comes to my own self harm and mental health.
However, it’s not all doom and gloom. Not for me, and no for self harm in general. I’m better, despite a 'slip' in January. I no longer plan to kill myself at 35 if I’m not 'better', whatever that may mean. And I haven’t cut or even wanted to cut for a month or so.
For self harm, the support increases more and more every year and the awareness continues to improve. It’s slow progress, and it’s always going to be constricted by the money available to charities and organisations. I am by no means an expert, just a woman who’s been self harming, on and off, for ten years now. Athough it's hard when I'm feeling vulnerable, I believe in speaking out and being honest about my experiences.
Rhian Williams
This post was originally published on Rhian's blog.
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7 Comments
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Rhian, your post has really touched a cord with me.
I have not significantly self-harmed, in terms of cutting, over the years. I could be described as a 'sporadic' cutter.
However, I truly believe that my self-harm is a part of an addiction, as is my alcoholism, substance abuse, disordered eating behaviour.
As 'addicts', we all have common ground, though our experiences and the intensity/frequency with which we cut/burn/scratch etc varies.
Thank you for sharing.
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I too was a self-harmer ... i've more or less brought it under control ... got sick of visits to the hospital in the early hours ... or just not going when I should've and ending up with horrendous scars on my arms ... anyway, i'm also an addict to crack-cocaine and heroin: still battling those two addictions, but I totally understand self-harming being another kind of addiction. For me it was a coping mechanism and I came to rely on it. I've also read that when a self-harmer cuts the brain releases endorphins, the 'happy chemicals' that lift our mood, so there really is more correlation between self-harm and illicit drugs than one might ordinarily think. Anyway, it takes courage to share ... self-harm in many ways is more taboo than class A drugs ... crazy that ... thanks for sharing.
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i to is a self harmer and its hard to explain unless u are going through it your self i started from a very early age and still do now its like if im angry with my self i just cut i also got a low esteme its hard when i m angry i was cut with a razor blade i just cut why i do it got no idea
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I thought you might be interested to read this article in the Telegraph - quite sensitively dealth with.
Alison
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how did you stop?!
i stoped for a while but now ive started it again and im feeling how i did 3 year ago and i dont want to. ive tryed to stop but the smalest thing make me go back to it and im loseing control...
i just dont no what to do?!
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Hi Louise, please see the links at the bottom of the blog post for information and support to help you when you're struggling. First signs have a lot of advice on 'surfing the urge' to self harm. Do contact Mindinfoline > http://www.mind.org.uk/help/advice_lines#contact
They'll be able to give you full details of information and resources that are available in your area.
Take care. -
Hi Rhian,
Thank you for sharing your experience and thoughts. I 'was' a self harmer for 8 years and haven't cut for nearly 5 years now, but it's often on my mind, much like the need for a cigarette or a run often is! The similarities are most definitely there, although I do think there are many differences between all addictions.
Take care and good luck with your journey x
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