Anonymous: I know this is never the answer to anything, but I was curious. I tried cutting myself before when I was really young. It never worked out and I couldn't puncture my skin. About six years later, I cut myself again. I tried it on my wrist, but I heard that you can internally bleed from cutting there so I stopped. Just last night, I tried again, but I only made a dent on my wrist instead of a cut. I took my razor and sliced my middle finger once. It barely went in. It really hurt, and I don't know why, but I tried it again. I made it smaller this time. I sliced my finger for the third time and stopped. I didn't bleed. I've done this a few times before on my index finger. I couldn't handle the fact that I was actually cutting myself again. I burst into tears after I realized the fact. I go through so much in my family that it's unbelievable. What can I do to stop this habit?

Friend: Dear Anonymous,

First off, I’m happy to hear that you are well aware of how dangerous and unhealthy it is to inflict pain on yourself. I can trust that you are more than aware of the consequences and that’s a great step in fixing this(:

I think that you should try to tell someone so they can help you address this problem. Your parents should be the best choice to go to, but since you said you go through a lot in your family then I recommend going to a school counselor or an actual therapist. Sometimes the best way to fix a problem is to say it out loud and get it off of your chest. Having someone listen to you can really go a long way and most of the times, it lifts a lot of weight off of your shoulders. A counselor or therapist is a good choice because everything you tell them is confidential, so you shouldn’t have any fears in holding out and you can freely tell them anything and everything.

However, if you feel more comfortable, then why shouldn’t you tell your parents? If your family is having little arguments over bills, taxes, etc. Then this should be a huge wake up call for them. It’ll open their eyes that they have been nearly neglecting you to a point where you’ve physically hurt yourself. If your family truly cares and loves you, they’ll put aside their differences or issues and spare some time to help pull you out of this(:

If the cutting becomes an issue again, the biggest step you can take is to stop the blade from even touching your skin. If you can stop yourself from making the blade even cut your skin (seeing as you’ve managed to hold the blade off from making your skin bleed), then you can definitely stop yourself from even getting the cold blade from touching your skin. Take baby steps from then and make sure the blade doesn’t even come out ever again. Have your friends by your side to guide and support you(:

An easy way to forget a problem is to keep yourself occupied and distracted from it. Easiest way is to kick back, have fun, cut loose, and do something with your group of friends(: Go out and see that movie you’ve all been dying to see, go have fun at a carnival and eat that yummy cotton candy! Anything that can keep you occupied and have your mind off the topic of cutting, can quickly push the problem aside until it disappears completely. You’ll be having so much fun laughing with your friends that your mind won’t have the time to even think of the subject of cutting(:

I hope everything goes uphill from here and that that cold blade won’t ever come near you again(: Take care!~

~(Chingu) 친구