Out of the average group of teenagers from ages 13-19, 13 out of 10,000 are likely to commit suicide. For the same age group 1 out of 5 women and 1 out of 7 men will engage in self injury. Self harm is generally the act of causing physical harm to your own body. Self harm is commonly correlated with mental illness however that is not always the case.
       So what is it that causes self harm? Some self harm to manage or reduce severe stress or anxiety. However most do it to provide a distraction from painful emotions. Actions of self harm can consist of substance abuse like pills or alcohol. For our age group the actions frequently consist of cutting, burning, starving yourself, or forcibly generating your body to throw up.
      For my best friend Audrey it was starvation. Almost 50% of people with eating disorders meet the criteria for depression and nine percent of all people suffer from depression. When her parents divorced in 2010 Audrey being only a year older than me began her journey of depression at only the age of 12. Half of all american children will witness the breakup of a parents marriage. The same year her parents divorced her father stopped making an effort to keep contact with her and eventually moved out of state. Audrey had the idea that because her father didn't love her that no one could. This is when she began to stop loving herself. In 2012 she began distancing herself from our friend group and we only hung out one on one. There was a big change in her actions, she smiled less, was less outgoing, and she began to lose a lot of weight. She began about the height and weight that I am now. Soon she was under 100 pounds. The frequent hospital visits took a huge toll on her grades at school and her relationship with her mom.
       On October 28th 2014 one day before my 15th birthday Audrey attempted to take her own life. After receiving help and discovering her self worth she has become healthy and happy again. Self harm is something that effects not only you but those around you. You see people hurting and you think "why?" But you haven't even began to comprehend the internal battle they fight each and everyday.
       A poem for Audrey and other individuals who strive to prosper during hardship.

Razors and pills won't numb the pain, you still feel alone, you still feel ashamed. As a high school student you may feel drained but with help you can be sustained. In a world so dark and unforgiving there is a light so life's worth living. -M.B.

       So what does this mean? To me it means that through all the bad there is so much good that outweighs it. To others it may provide a reason to keep fighting. Awareness of your surroundings and the feelings of others around you is just one of many ways to prevent individuals from participating in the disconsolate acts of self harm. Too many nights are spent leaving salt water stains on pillows because we want to be prettier, smarter, stronger and better. We put up a front of happiness only to break down behind closed doors. Humans are never happy; nothing is ever good enough and no one is content with what they have. Some destroy their bodies to fit in to a mold of perfection, only to later regret their self hatred. No, you will sit there and stare at a picture of a person with broken eyes that you no longer recognize and wish they hadn't listened to themselves. But it's too late now, they can't take back all of the harsh words and unforgivable actions they didn't know any better. Now it's up to us to apologize for what we put ourselves through and make sure that we don't spit out generation after generation of dissatisfied humans. Love others despite their flaws. It starts with us.