by Meg Rohr

Self harm. Cutting, burning, beating, overdosing, the list of examples goes on and on. It’s the touchy subject that is not always taken seriously by those who do not understand it. But it’s the topic that needs to be confronted and understood. Self harm is an issue that is becoming extremely common among teenagers. It’s slowly taking over the bodies of those who are mentally and emotionally suffering. Self harm leaves cuts and scratches like a cat’s, burns like an oven’s, and turns a once cheerful middle school girl into a distraught teenager who can’t seem to live without her own self destruction.

Teenagers with self harming issues are everywhere around us. Actually, about 25 percent of teenagers in America have or still do hurt themselves. That sweet girl next to you in math class? She might cut herself every day. That cute Rockhurst boy that you’ve been texting for days? He could be popping pills every night just to ease his mind. Society has made this stereotype about self harmers that is completely false. We sometimes subconsciously assume that the quiet girl with bracelets up her arms cuts herself. But we don’t look twice at the wrists of the talkative student.

Self harming issues do receive attention, but mostly the wrong kind. It almost seems like our generation glorifies self harm. There are so many “beautiful” pictures of people’s scars on social media. Teenagers tend to see self-harm scars as poetic. They see them as storytelling secrets. And because of this misconception, we are led to believe that it is a trendy thing to do. But this is all wrong. Breaking your own skin is not beautiful. It is not trendy. It is not cute or funny.

It is serious.

Because self harm isn’t all that fun to talk about, it can easily go unnoticed. But the longer it isn’t taken care of, the worse it gets. I have been surrounded by many friends who have self harmed before. One of them has been struggling with this for years, and it kept getting worse because he hadn’t gotten help. He had become so dependent on a blade for escape that it was extremely challenging for him to recover. Another one of my friends received help from professionals early on. The difference? My first friend became a self harm addict. My second friend overcame the urges to hurt herself and is in a completely better place now.

So how do we help those around us that self-harm? What is easiest and least heavy on us is to just be there for them. Look out for them more, check up on them, and talk them through hard times. If you can’t seem to stop them from continuing, at least don’t give them a reason to hurt themselves more than they already are. But most importantly, persuade them to get help. A friend can help you through little struggles, but they can’t act as a doctor or therapist. Another simple way to help self-harmers is to not make jokes about depression, self-harm, or suicide. Those struggling with self-harming addictions deserve to feel like they can speak up for help without society judging them, or the opposite, telling them that their scars are “tragically beautiful”, which can be seen as encouraging self-harm. The day we stop idolizing self destruction and start treating it like the important issue many teenagers struggle with is the day that we will change the mindset of our generation. It is the day that we decide happiness and well-being is more beautiful than the leftover lines from a blade.