Cutting / Question
Published: June 3, 2009
Dear TeenHealthFX,
I'm fifteen years old, and I have not had a hard life at all. My parents are together, i have a nice older brother and many good friends. No one close to me has died, and I haven't been through any trauma. So why aren't I happy? I have no good reason to hate myself and my life, but I do. I cut myself, and have been regularly for over a month. When I cut, I do multiple slashes, like five to ten. It makes me feel better, it relieves my stress. But I don't understand why I have so much stress? There is nothing for me to complain about, which just makes me hate myself because I realize that others have it way worse off. So I get mad at myself, and end up back in the same place. I feel like I'm in a circle of self-hate, and there's nothing I can do to get out of it. Somedays I'm really happy, but then the next few days I want to kill myself. Its always one step foward and three steps back. My parents took me to a therapists when they say my cuts, but I hate her and she doesn't help. I'm afraid to tell my parents that I feel this way, because they don't understand. What can I do? I just want to be happy.
Signed: No Good Reason To Hate Myself And My Life
Dear No Good Reason To Hate Myself And My Life,
Without being able to conduct a personal consultation, it is impossible for TeenHealthFX to know exactly what is making you feel the way you feel. But the fact is that your feelings and behaviors are very real and must be stemming from something – so try not to “hate” yourself, but instead know that there is some real cause for what you are going through even if you do not yet know what it is. There could be more subtle environmental factors that are affecting you in ways that you may not even be realizing. You could also be dealing with some kind of mood disorder, which means that there are chemical things going on within your body that affects the mood.
If your current therapist isn’t being helpful, consider the following:
· Have a consultation with a new individual therapist to see if you can find someone you can connect to more and who can be of more help to you.
· Participate in family therapy. Very often individual therapy is not enough for teens and children – family therapy needs to happen to address any relationship issues within the family, as well as to provide education about what is contributing to the presenting problems and what can be done about them.
· Meet with a psychiatrist to see if a psychotropic medication would be recommended. If you do have some kind of mood disorder, medication might be helpful to address any bio-chemical issues going on.
As for the cutting, one thing you can do is to keep some kind of diary about the times you have urges to cut. Write down where you are, how you are feeling, and what you were doing and thinking about just prior to the urges so you can try to learn what triggers your urges to cut. That way you can address with a mental health professional the triggers and what alternate coping mechanisms you can use when faced with these triggers.
If you live in northern
You can also contact the Self-Injury Hotline (information only, not a crisis line) at 1-800-DON’T-CUT, 1-800-366-8288.
If you get to the point that you are seriously considering suicide or are afraid of your impulses then you need to seek help immediately. You can call 911 or go to your nearest hospital emergency room. In northern
Signed: TeenHealthFX
Among male drivers between 15 and 20 years of age who were involved in fatal crashes in 2005, 38% were speeding at the time of the crash and 24% had been drinking.
