My Opinions

Cutting

I...I just can't. Why would you want to mutilate your body, the only body you have, because you are depressed, bullied, want to feel powerful, etc. A lot of people, teens especially, cut. I have a friend that used to cut.

I managed to talk her into getting help. No, I didn't say 'you need help, lock yourself. You're a danger to yourself and society'. I said, I mess with you not:

"Amanda, I know things are difficult right now. But why do you hurt yourself? Don't give me that 'I can't help it, I can't stop' bullshit either. You have the power to stop whenever you want. And if you can't, you should talk to a professional. I'm not saying you need drugs, or to be in a funny farm. But you need to do something, because obviously, you can't help yourself. And although I want to be the person to help, nothing that I say gets through to you."

We went into a nice long argument, which almost cost me our friendship. She thought that I was 'just like everyone else' and that 'I don't understand'. But that's not true. I was hurt seeing her in pain. So I couldn't imagine what it was like for her.

To those who cut:
I know that you think nobody understands. I know that you often think about death, suicide, and I know that every once in a while, you prey to God that you have the strength to not drag that razor across your wrist any deeper. You have such a precious life. It's YOUR life; nobody else's. Do you really want to just give up? Do you think cutting, or attempted suicide, is going to solve anything? It's only going to make the matter worse. 

You can't get a job with scars up and down your arms and legs. You can't wear the clothes that I hope you want to wear, looking like you survived a cereal killer. And I'm not saying this to be mean, but there will be only two types of guys or girls that you will attract; the one just like you, in the same exact situation, or the person that loves you for who you are, but will forever be pained by the markings on your body- all because you thought you couldn't handle it. You CAN handle it.

So whatever you're going through, know that it won't last forever. Because there can't be a rainbow without a storm. 

Alright, now that the depressing stuff is out of the way...

How do you stop? What do you do about the scars?
A: it may not be as simple as this, but just...STOP. Throw out anything that may tempt you to harm yourself, bandage up your wounds, and stop. If you need to, talk to someone you trust. It doesn't have to be a doctor, or a professional that you know is only going to give you a bottle of pills. You think you don't have the strength for any of these? You do. You just have to find it.
B: Scars... Scars are trickier. I recommend Mederma. I use it on my acne scars, it works wonders. Don't cover your scars. NEVER cover your scars. That's only going to make you insecure. If you're worried about appearances that much, or what people may think, put some make-up over it. But that, I do not recommend. The only way to get over any problem is to face it head-on. So what, you get a few glances. So what, people may judge you. Well I hate to break it to you, even without the scars, they're still judging you. It's just human nature.  

I hope I helped. And I hope that you guys didn't take all of this the wrong way.

'Who does she think she is?'
'Why do you care?'
'She may be trying to help, but she just doesn't understand. She's just like the psychologists.'

1- I'm a friend. Nothing more, nothing less.
2- I care because I know that nobody else truly will.
3- You can bring a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. This saying means that you can push someone in the direction, but if they don't go down the path, there's nothing you can do about it. If you think that I don't understand, then you probably aren't ready to do something about your condition. Which, that's okay. But if you believe that I'm not trying to help, that I'm doing this for attention, or that my point is completely invalid, than I hold nothing but sympathy towards you.

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As always,
<3 Cat