Scratch stress

Please tell me if I'm being pathetic. A couple of months ago I started to feel completely down about a tiny problem and started to scratch my arm until it bled. I quite quickly stopped because people noticed it.

The thing is, I've started to do it again and the other night I cut myself really deeply. I'm not trying to kill myself but I'm really confused. I've heard lots about self-harm but I don't think that's what I'm doing because I haven't told anyone about it and often the cuts aren't deep.

I feel like a total idiot asking you but I don't know what to do. Can you tell me what's going on?

First of all, you're not being pathetic. You've obviously been through a lot and it's good you've had the courage to ask about it.

You mentioned you don't think you are self-harming because you don't tell anyone you're doing it. Self-harm is any deliberate act of injury to yourself and people self-harm in different ways so from what you describe it does sound like you're self-harming.

You say a problem made you feel really down. Often, people self-harm because they are struggling to cope with strong emotions or problems they are facing. It is often a very private way of coping with emotions and problems and not spoken about, but it can help to talk to someone about how you're feeling.

If you don't want to talk to family or friends about your situation, there are other people you can talk to. You may find counselling useful, if you're at school or college there may be a counsellor working there who can talk over problems with you.

Alternatively there are also people who can support you in other ways. SANELINE is a national mental health helpline offering emotional support and information to anyone experiencing mental health problems and their family and friends. You can call them on 0845 767 8000 between 12pm-2am every day.

You may also find it useful to visit The National Self Harm Network's discussion boards.

Updated: 23/12/2008

Question answered by SANE