Many teenagers, girls, and boys go through suicidal thoughts and self-harm. What is self-harm? Self-harm refers to when a person hurts themselves on purpose.
For many people, self-harm provides a sense of relief after doing it. Most of the time, people do it to cope with their pain and problems. They are most of the time trying not to feel lonely and helpless.
What is self-harm? Signs of self-harm are scars on the arm, wearing long sleeves and or pants in hot weather, talking about feeling worthless or helpless, fresh cuts, bruises, bite marks or burns, and keeping sharp objects on hand. How can you help with self-harm? To help with self-harm, you can start therapy or resort to hospitalization
Suicidal Ideation is when you think about, consider, or feel occupied with the idea of death or suicide. You may dwell on thoughts of suicide to the point where you make a plan to take your life.
What causes suicidal thoughts? There are many reasons behind these thoughts, but some common ones are stress, anxiety, etc.
How to care for it? To help with your suicidal thoughts, you can go to therapy and make a safety plan to help with coping.
If one of your loved ones or friends is struggling with self-harm and suicidal thoughts, make sure to be super supportive of them and take time to listen to what they have to say. Make sure they know that you will take the time to be there for them and not judge them for what they have to say. The last thing they would need is for you to gossip about their self-harm, which in the long run would only make things worse for them. Don’t set ultimatums, for example, don’t say stuff like, “If you keep doing this, I will tell someone.” Saying that will only make things worse in the end for them and make them feel more isolated. And as hard as it may seem, you can’t decide what people can and can’t do. The best thing you can do is just be there for them as much as possible and just listen to what they have to say.
Many people make jokes about self-harm and suicidal thoughts, and they don’t take it seriously, and think it’s something funny to joke about. Most people struggle in silence, so always check in with your friends because you never know what someone is going through, even the people you are super close with. Even the happiest people who are smiling and laughing are, most of the time, the people who go through it a lot. So always check in on your friends.
As someone who went through this, it’s good to know you’re not alone in the struggle. Yes, it’s an extremely sensitive topic to many people, but it’s something we should talk more about and check in on more people about it, and remember you are never alone in the struggle.