Self Harm | Teen Ink

Self Harm

November 12, 2010
By CharleeVan GOLD, Lincoln, Nebraska
CharleeVan GOLD, Lincoln, Nebraska
15 articles 0 photos 25 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;How do you feel? That is the question, but I forget you don&#039;t expect an easy answer. When something like a soul becomes initialized and folded up like paper dolls and little notes you can&#039;t expect a bit of hope...&quot;<br /> -Stone Sour &quot;Through the Glass&quot;


Self mutilation is a topic that is avoided by everybody; i.e. parents, teachers, students. It is a scary topic, but when is anything serious not scary? It is becoming such a huge issue yet a lot of people turn a blind eye to it, or just do the easiest thing they can think of, which is usually push the issue off of their shoulders so another person can handle it since most people can't handle that kind of pressure.

What can you do when someone is hurting themselves? That's an answer that I don't think anybody will ever actually be able to answer, because its not really something that is easy to understand. In fact, the only way to really understand it is when you have already done it. I'm not saying that everybody should go experiment, I'm just saying that instead of ignoring the problem, think about it.

How can we really think about something that we apparently can't understand? Easy. Here's a scenario for you, their is a girl that notices scratches on her friends arm, when she starts talking to her friend about it the friend says, "I do it because it gives me a release and makes me feel better." Most the time, people in a situation like this just assume that the friend wants attention instead of thinking about it scientifically.

When a person is seriously stressed or depressed, things are just hard to get sorted out, so when said person cuts, their body releases endorphins which are the bodies natural chemicals that relieve pain and stress, so if you know somebody that cuts, don't just brush it off and say its an attempt at getting attention. Just listen to what they say.



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This article has 13 comments.


Rabbit said...
on Jan. 25 2012 at 6:06 pm
Okay, first off, I love you. This is just absolutely brilliant. As someone who has cut for over five years, this is one of the most encouraging things I have ever seen. So many people either grossly under-react or over-react when they find out a friend or family member cuts that it's dangerous to say anything to anyone. When people try to help they sometimes do the one thing that makes it dangerous for people to try to help themselves. I'm just really, really grateful that you've written this.

on Nov. 21 2010 at 11:23 am
RachaelNM SILVER, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
6 articles 0 photos 1 comment

I also enjoyed reading this, it was very interesting. However, like the others pointed out there are some run-ons. Also maybe make it a bit longer and put more of the science behind it or cite the part about the endorphins-just a thought.

Great start though!


on Nov. 21 2010 at 1:01 am
MiiSs_AlySsA SILVER, Fall River, Massachusetts
8 articles 3 photos 26 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Your Hold On Me Is Pemeant And Unbreakable. Don&#039;t Forget That...&quot;<br /> <br /> &quot;Oh yea, Burgers for the boys..&quot; - Haha!! A friend

It's nice that you have chosen to write about such a dark topic. There are a few run on sentences but it's still understandable. I'm glad you mentioned the scientific part of cutting however I think you could have added more to the whole article. It is good though :) I like it :)

on Nov. 21 2010 at 12:21 am
CharleeVan GOLD, Lincoln, Nebraska
15 articles 0 photos 25 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;How do you feel? That is the question, but I forget you don&#039;t expect an easy answer. When something like a soul becomes initialized and folded up like paper dolls and little notes you can&#039;t expect a bit of hope...&quot;<br /> -Stone Sour &quot;Through the Glass&quot;

Yeah I understand it needs work. I am actually disappointed because I really rushed this one.

I have one other piece that has finally been approved though. It is "The Life of a Teenage Masochist" Its pretty crazy.


on Nov. 20 2010 at 6:57 pm
sweetly_broken GOLD, Garner, North Carolina
15 articles 0 photos 157 comments

Favorite Quote:
We never know how big we are until we are asked to rise.

I agree with what was said about run on sentences and such. This is a good start for a piece and I'm glad you are bringing light to a dark issue. there were a few errors such as when you said their in the second paragraph, it should have been "There." To really improve this piece you might want to add more details, such as with testimonies, statistics, more facts, etc. But for a piece of this length, it was very good. Please check out some of my work!!

on Nov. 19 2010 at 8:18 pm
CharleeVan GOLD, Lincoln, Nebraska
15 articles 0 photos 25 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;How do you feel? That is the question, but I forget you don&#039;t expect an easy answer. When something like a soul becomes initialized and folded up like paper dolls and little notes you can&#039;t expect a bit of hope...&quot;<br /> -Stone Sour &quot;Through the Glass&quot;

It releases endorphins...The only reason that everybody isn't a masochist is because not everybody wants to experiment with that...I think different levels of pain tolerance may have some sort of affect along with the human psyche

on Nov. 19 2010 at 7:24 pm
scream.u.a.lullaby BRONZE, Irving, Texas
2 articles 0 photos 3 comments

correct me if i'm wrong, but i always thought pain released a tiny shot of adrenaline. Adrenaline is a natural stress reliever and addictive, thus why it is so hard to quit. Arent endorphins for happiness? If pain brought happiness the whole world would be masochistic, yes?

or maybe i have it wrong...


on Nov. 19 2010 at 6:33 am
CharleeVan GOLD, Lincoln, Nebraska
15 articles 0 photos 25 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;How do you feel? That is the question, but I forget you don&#039;t expect an easy answer. When something like a soul becomes initialized and folded up like paper dolls and little notes you can&#039;t expect a bit of hope...&quot;<br /> -Stone Sour &quot;Through the Glass&quot;

Well, you should've known that I wasn't going to let this topic go on without getting talked about by me Sierra. lol

sierrarose66 said...
on Nov. 18 2010 at 11:10 pm
It was a great article i went through the situation of the girl, like i was the one who what doing the self harm. I can say honestly now im glad that part of my life is over. Im glad someone is getting to this topic. I thank you.

on Nov. 18 2010 at 5:59 pm
CharleeVan GOLD, Lincoln, Nebraska
15 articles 0 photos 25 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;How do you feel? That is the question, but I forget you don&#039;t expect an easy answer. When something like a soul becomes initialized and folded up like paper dolls and little notes you can&#039;t expect a bit of hope...&quot;<br /> -Stone Sour &quot;Through the Glass&quot;

Well, I am glad you enjoyed it. I do write a lot though the only problem is that this is the only work I've had approved yet. I'm still waiting for like another 15 pieces or so to get approved.

summerqdp GOLD said...
on Nov. 18 2010 at 5:53 pm
summerqdp GOLD, Dana Point, California
10 articles 12 photos 19 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;A friend in need is a friend indeed, a friend with weed is better.&quot;<br /> &quot;Then he put on forty-two and a half tabs of brown acid that he still had from his Woodstock days. She saw all kinds of colors. Lemon yellow, orange orange, cherry red, kaleidoscope eyes. The world was on fire.&quot;

Pheonix is very right, I agree with what he says.

I really enjoyed this though and the insight you give. You have quite a talent with writing and you should continue. It's very true how people just brush off things and ignore what you say and make up their own assumptions. So very very true and prevelant in my life. Good point.


on Nov. 18 2010 at 12:31 pm
CharleeVan GOLD, Lincoln, Nebraska
15 articles 0 photos 25 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;How do you feel? That is the question, but I forget you don&#039;t expect an easy answer. When something like a soul becomes initialized and folded up like paper dolls and little notes you can&#039;t expect a bit of hope...&quot;<br /> -Stone Sour &quot;Through the Glass&quot;

Thank you for reading this article. I will see what I can do with it to make it better.

on Nov. 18 2010 at 11:59 am
Phoenix97 PLATINUM, Minneapolis, Minnesota
29 articles 4 photos 62 comments

Favorite Quote:
See lyrics to &quot;Let the Waters Rise&quot; by MIKESCHAIR and &quot;Everything&quot; by Lifehouse

This article is a good start, but it has some structural flaws that detract from your message. First off, you use really long sentences. That's not bad--I personally use a lot of long sentences as well--but check to make sure that they aren't run-ons. For example, this sentence

"It is becoming such a huge issue yet a lot of people turn a blind eye to it, or just do the easiest thing they can think of, which is usually (to) push the issue off of their shoulders so another person can handle it since most people can't handle that kind of pressure."

is a run-on. See how it is practically a paragraph in itself? Try breaking it up into at least two sentences. Maybe

"It is becoming a huge issue, yet many people turn a blind eye to it. Those who do acknowledge the problem often leave it for another person to deal with because they feel inadequate to address the situation."

I rewrote your sentence and replaced some lengthy or "filler" type phrases with more formal, concise, or stronger phrases as the case may be. 

Aside from structural flaws, you have a good piece. This could become an excellent article to refer to people whose friends are involved in self-injury.