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How do I explain this to my parents?
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
I self harm. They already know, and last week we went to an appointment with a psychiatrist who has put me in for counselling. That's good, I know, but there are still problems.
Everything sharp in my house has been hidden from me! And I still crave the feeling I get after cutting. I've tried going for walks, reading, studying, watching a film, having a bath, excercising etc. but nothing is giving me the same feeling.
My mam and dad must think I'm getting better because I haven't cut since they hid everything - they've only made it worse. The psychiatrist said it would be better for me to still cut, but slowly start to limit myself, but my mother didn't like this at all so instead went with hiding all sharp objects.
I understand they're doing it because they don't want to see me get hurt, but it's hurting me more not being able to harm myself, and where my parents don't understand the feeling I get from it, I'm clueless as how to explain to them, even with limitations on my cutting, I'll feel better.
Everything sharp in my house has been hidden from me! And I still crave the feeling I get after cutting. I've tried going for walks, reading, studying, watching a film, having a bath, excercising etc. but nothing is giving me the same feeling.
My mam and dad must think I'm getting better because I haven't cut since they hid everything - they've only made it worse. The psychiatrist said it would be better for me to still cut, but slowly start to limit myself, but my mother didn't like this at all so instead went with hiding all sharp objects.
I understand they're doing it because they don't want to see me get hurt, but it's hurting me more not being able to harm myself, and where my parents don't understand the feeling I get from it, I'm clueless as how to explain to them, even with limitations on my cutting, I'll feel better.
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I used to self harm and the best thing for me was having a best friend who also self harmed. Someone who knew what I was going through. I consider it a coping mechanism, some people get drunk to deal with their life - that's socially acceptable.
If someone tried to stop me, it would have annoyed me to - my life n'all that. There's always something you can use if you're determind to self harm.
This is really insightful and omg_hi makes some really good points. As a parent their instinct will be to protect you from harm and that instinct will be really strong. Talking to them about how you feel and for both you and them to try to see things from each other's point of view might help you to find a comprimise.
There is a bit from our article on Steps to Recovery that I also thought might be relevant here given what you've said about not feeling ready to stop:
Being aware of where you're at is likely to be key to you finding ways forward so it's ok to be honest about not feeling ready but also to keep looking for new ways of coping that really work for you.
*hug*