Self-Injury Awarenesss Day Info. (READ PLEASE!)

Alright, so for the past couple of months I've been working on SIAD (self-injury awareness day).

SELF INJURY AWARENESS DAY IS MARCH 1ST.

For those of you who don't know what SI is, read on. If you already know what SI is, go to the section that says ??????What you can do to help??????.



??????What is SI (self-injury)???????

Self-injury, self-harm, and self-mutilation (although most people who practice SI don't respect the last term) all mean one thing: when someone hurts themselves in order to cope. Most people who think of self-injury think of slicing the wrist (i don't know if this is how it's like at other schools, but in middle school these people would be labeled as Emo), however, self-injury is not just pertained to cutting. There are many forms of self-injury, which include cutting, burning, pulling out hair (trichotillomania), picking at skin (dermatillomania), biting, lip biting, hitting head against wall, bruising, and so on. Self-injury is no different than when someone drinks, smokes, or does drugs to relieve pain; all these actions do one thing to the person who practices them: to cope with problems.



??????Why People Self-Injure??????

There are two main reasons why people self-injure: because of hyper stress and feeling detached. When a person is feeling overwhelmed, angered, sad, depressed, etc., some people use self-injury to "breathe again", or to stop focusing on mental issues and instead focus on the physical pain. However, when someone is feeling detached they hurt themselves because it allows them to feel. Although pain isn't pleasant, it's still a feeling; thus it makes the person feel again.



??????Common Myth's About Self-Injury??????

1.) People who suffer from self-injury are suicidal.

Answer: No. Not all people who self-injure are suicidal. However, people who do self-injure are more likely to be suicidal and/or commit suicide. Like I said before, self-injury is usually nothing more than just a coping mechanism.

2.) Scarification is considered to be self-injury/harm/mutilation.

Answer: Completely, absolutely no. Scarification is a ritualistic form of tattooing when your skin is cut/peeled off in order to get a scar as an end result. Self-injury is not for body decoration, spiritual enlightenment, or fitting in/being cool.

3.) Only teenage girls self-injure.

Answer: Honestly, who came up with this? Self-injury can affect people rich or poor, man or woman, any age, any race, i.e., it can affect anyone.

4.) People who self-injure are insane and should be locked up.

Answer: People who self-injure are not crazy. They need to find healthier ways to cope, yes, but that does not mean that they are insane.

5.) Self-injury is contagious.

Answer: No. Self-Injury is not contagious by any means.



??????New Ways to Cope if you Suffer from Self-Injury??????

If you do suffer from self-injury, help is possible.

If you Self-Injure because you are angry:

1.) Hit a pillow.

2.) Throw ice cubes in a bathtub (hopefully they'll break).

3.) Rip up a newspaper.

4.) Write a letter to the person/thing you're angry at and rip it up.

5.) Hit a punching bag (not your little brother...)

6.) Buy plah-doh and squeeze it.

7.) Use one of those stress balls you have but never used.

8.) Turn up your favorite song and dance (Your neighbors have a new favorite song...whether they like it or not).



If you Self-Injure because you are feeling sad/depressed:

1.) Talk to a friend (no matter how much you deny it, talking does help).

2.) Go outside and take a walk.

3.) Go to the park and swing.

4.) Listen to music (listening to music always helps).

5.) Light some incense.

6.) Eat your favorite food and watch a comedy.



If you Self-Injure because you are feeling detached, not alive:

1.) Snap a rubber band against your wrist.

2.) Squeeze an ice cube.

3.) Stick your finger in ice cream.

4.) Focus on how it feels to breathe.

5.) (once again) listen to music.


If you Self-Injure because you want to see blood:

1.) Draw where you want to cut with a red pen.

2.) Buy tempera paint and go over where you want to cut.

3.) Use food coloring.



Play the Fifteen Minute Game: when you see if you can wait 15 minutes to self-injure. Once the 15 minutes is over, see if you can go another 15 minutes.



One thing that helps for any reason is to write down three things that have made you happy that day, even if insignificant, and tape them to your wall.



??????What you can do to help??????

SIAD is something that is not well-known to most people, mainly because if a person self-injures they are afraid what people will think. However, if you would like to make this issue become more well known, read on.

1.) Wear orange to show your concern/awareness to self-injury. Wear red and black together if you suffer from SI, recovering, or have ever suffered from it before.

2.) Hang up posters around your school about SIAD.

3.) Talk to your school counselor about it.

4.) If someone tells you they suffer from SI, do not treat them any different. They are talking to you because they can trust you with such an issue.



??????So the Bottom Line is...??????

What i'm trying to say is that SI is nothing to joke about. Many people in the US suffer from it, but are afraid to come out and tell others that they self-injure to cope. SIAD is a day when (if you suffer from SI) you tell someone that you have been suffering. Self-Injury, unfortunately, is not well known to most kids our age. Help spread the awareness this march 1st...or any day.



IMPORTANT ORGANIZATIONS THAT FOCUS ON SELF-INJURY:

To Write Love On Her Arms:

http://www.twloha.com/



S.A.F.E. Alternatives:

http://www.selfinjury.com/



"I'm learning to smile, and that's not easy to do."

"I hate what i've become to escape what i hated being."



KEEP THE AWARENESS GOING: AWARENESS IS CONTAGIOUS!