Tuesday, February 18, 2014

New Blog! Overcoming SI

New Blog is up, still adding content but you can follow the link and add your email to get updates. It is about Overcoming Self Injury, would love for some followers! Self injurers, family and friends who know someone who self injures, you don't have to be in the recovery process, but this is not a pro-self injury group. It is focused on coping skills, advocacy, information, support, etc... Check it out!
 http://overcomingsiblog.wordpress.com/

Thanks!

Emily

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

On a personal note

This blog was for a project. The topic was chosen after a certain Facebook page provided me with some comfort. I'm no longer ashamed of my self injury though sometimes that can be tough to accept. I'm not afraid to have blogs based on SI, or class research on SI, and if a friend asks a question about it then I'll answer. I do have limits, I don't show people. Yes, when I'm manic and I do it I don't think and I will sometimes do it on my hand. This is NOT to show the world, if I could hide it I would. But it isn't something I'm proud of so please know this. I don't believe anyone should be ashamed of their self injury. Wear it as a personal reminder that you are still here, you're alive, and breathing. You're human.

 I have over 30,000 views on this blog alone and I'm hoping most of those were helpful. I'd like to try and get back into this blog but it may take some time. I also considered making this a Facebook page instead to maybe get more people involved and it's a little easier for me to update more often. I could share links, photos, stories, I'd pick a weekly topic about self injury and the body and we could have discussions throughout the week. Everyone could contribute and we could make it a community where we can feel safe about what we talk about. So maybe I'll throw together a page and post the link on here and you guys can like the page or if I can figure out a friend request type thing. If it's a disaster than we go  back to just the blog. Trial and Error :)

My last thought is that every single one of you who reads this and comments on it I want you to know that I honest to God care about you. I almost think about my readers. I want you to be safe, I want you to have the courage to ask for help, I want you to love yourself, to be yourself, to never be ashamed of who you are or what you've done, to see your scars as beautiful and a part of you not as ugly or sad, your body is important and taking care of mind body and spirit is key no matter how old or young you are, and lastly to know that you are never alone in this, you are beautiful, and strong, and I believe in every one of you. I mean that.

Once my homework gets out of the way I'll start getting the blog up and running. Please check out my other blog on overcoming self injury, there's some good stuff on that one as well.

-Emily

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Person Doing A Speech

First of all thank you everyone for reading, I'm getting close to 30,000 views so I'm thinking this is helping some of you. I worry that this blog can be triggering to some so please stop reading if it is triggering to you. Otherwise I'm not updating this blog anymore after today, or at least I'm taking a break to help myself. I do have another blog called Overcoming Self Injury so if you want to check that out please do.

I received a request from a reader who is writing a speech and asked if I could post information for them to use. They also asked where I get my information. What I did for this blog was research. I searched all over the internet for information on self injury, self esteem, body image, and scarring. I interviewed people over Facebook and they told me their stories. I also took a lot of my own experiences and used that in some of my posts. But I am in no way a medical doctor. I interpret this information in my own way to make it easier for people to understand this "disorder".

My definition of self injury is the act of purposely inflicting pain on ones self that will give some form of relief during a time of stress, anxiety, depression, etc...

Many people report not having a specific reason for as to why they do it. Yes, sometimes people do it for the attention but I don't like discussing that area since I know of no one who has done so. In most cases it begins as a result of some form of trauma, a interuption of daily life, psychiatric disorders.

Self injury is often a very private matter and is usually hidden under clothing and kept a secret. The most common parts of the body are the arms, legs, stomach, chest, and even genitals in some cases. It is easy to cut through a vein which could lead to death also cuts can become infected very easily.

Some people choose to seek out professional help while others try to deal with it on their own though I recommend medical help.

Self injury is NOT a sign of suicidal intent. It is instead a signal for help. That person may not say it but they wouldn't be doing it if they weren't struggling. They don't want to die (in most cases) but instead they want to live but being caught in self injury can give them a feeling of hopelessness and they do want to live again.

The number of self injurers are increasing every day. They cut, burn, pick, bruise, and starve. No two people are alike. They all have different stories, symptoms, coping methods.

Self injury is done by all genders, a wide range of age groups, races. Its an issue that needs more attention.

I hope this helps, also google some info, that should help!


Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Read!

Read my newest blog!

http://overcomingsi.blogspot.com/

-Emily

Monday, October 22, 2012

New Blog!

Hey everyone!
I started a new blog called Overcoming Self Injury find it here http://overcomingsi.blogspot.com/ .
It focuses on overcoming the act of self injury rather than the act itself. It will feature personal experiences of from myself and from others on overcoming SI. This blog is no longer going to be updated so follow the link to the knew one! Please read!
-Emily

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Self Injury As An Addiction


The next topic I want to discuss with this blog is self injury as an addiction. When someone is cutting, burning, purging, etc, they are using it as a coping mechanism. When someone drinks alcohol to become drunk or drugs to get high they are also using that as a coping mechanism. So when we put the two together side by side we can see that self injury can be addiction just like drugs and alcohol. People who cut often describe their cutting as an addiction because they become to used to the feeling that they can't stop. From a personal prospective I agree with that entirely. It can take years of fighting it and yet people still can't stop. It's is something familiar, something they find comfort in, and they simply cannot stop. I look forward to speaking with people about their experiences.
-Emily

Returning to the blog


This blog began as a way for me to let others see the truth behind self injury. It means something different to every person. Some want pain, others want release, and others feel like it's the only way to feel normal. This blog was for a class, just a few months, once or twice a week. I had no idea how many people I would be helping, how many people would be reading this like a book waiting for a real conclusion. I've decided to start again, or continue from where I left off. Please share this with others whether they need help themselves or you know someone who needs to understand self injury. I thank you for reading this, it's inspired me to write about self injury again and it's something very close to me.
To continue the blog I will ask a new question to follow up from Self Injury and the Body. When I find more information I will write again and I hope you're all here to read it.
-Emily