DISCLAIMER: The following article may be triggering to anyone who has experienced or is currently experiencing a mental illness.

If you do not feel comfortable telling your guardian about your self-harm, there are so many more options for you. First and foremost, you can talk to me, and I will direct you to an adult who can help. I may not know you and you may not know me, but I know what you’re feeling. You can also tell a teacher or a counselor that you do feel comfortable with. Just so you know, if you choose to do this and you are actively self-harming, the school is legally obligated to contact your guardians.

Now, this next solution is for those times when you’re about to self-harm or just have. You feel like you need to talk to someone, anyone. Call the Resolve Crisis Service 1-888-7-YOU-CAN (1-888-796-8226). It is one hundred percent confidential and toll-free. If you feel uncomfortable talking to someone on the phone, you can use the Crisis Text Line, just text HOME to 741741, and a professional therapist will text with you. Please, call before a potential crisis becomes a real crisis. An additional number you might like to keep on you for emergencies is the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255).

Telling someone might make you feel weak, like you’re not strong enough to deal with this yourself, but feeling weak for a short time is better than letting yourself slip deeper and deeper into an abyss of self-harm. It is scary, very scary. But I’m telling you your life is so much bigger than whatever pain you’re feeling at the moment. You’re not a lost cause and you’re not a burden.

One day, no matter what stage in your life you’re at, you will be proud of your past. This won’t happen instantly, but it will happen. Please, if you’re struggling with self-harm, tell an adult so you can get the proper help you need. The sooner you get help, the sooner you can start climbing out of that pit of doubt you’re stuck in. I’m still struggling to move completely past what I’ve gone through. But I know with the help of my friends, family, and professionals it will get easier and easier to accept what I’ve gone through. And it will get easier for you too.

Now, let me back up a little and explain how the thought of writing a self-help article arose in my mind…. There are things you see every day and subconsciously choose to ignore. I’m sure you’ve seen a girl whose nail polish is chipping, but you didn’t think anything of it, right? Because who cares about someone else’s chipping nail polish? But if you see that and you’ve also experienced chipping nail polish, you will probably think twice about it. You’ll remember a time when your nail polish was chipping.

Now imagine this: You turn your head and skim past a red mark on someone’s wrist. Someone who has never had deep red lines on their wrists probably won’t even notice it. But if you have ever had these markings on your wrist or arm or thigh, your mind will instantly be flooded with memories when you see it.  If you know exactly what I’m talking about I hope you have overcome this petrifying act. And if you are catching on to what I’m talking about but have never ran your fingers over a risen scab in the form of a line on your body, I envy you. And if you’re lucky enough to have absolutely no clue what I’m talking about, then allow me to let in on something I hope you never experience in your life — self harm.

If you fall into the first group, and you have self-harmed or are self-harming, please don’t shy away from reading the rest of this article. You are reading an article that was written by someone who knows exactly what you’re feeling and thinking and experiencing. Through my personal experience with mental illness and self-harm, I have learned that people do care, and they do want to help you.  While, at times, it seemed like a bottomless pit that I could never dig myself out from, I’m glad I experienced it so I can help other people who are going through the same thing.

My self-harm started with small cuts that didn’t result in bleeding when I was feeling completely hopeless. Then, I experienced the release it gave me. It was a few seconds focused on that pain and nothing else. For those few seconds or minutes of cutting myself, all the pain I was feeling disappeared. Soon enough, I was cutting myself every time some minor inconvenience arose in my life. I became addicted to the release and freedom I got from cutting. At that point, there was no getting myself out of this pit of despair, or so I thought.

But I’m here to tell you how wrong I was. I’m not going to tell you that there is light at the end of the tunnel or that this is God’s plan for you. I’m sorry, but that is complete BS. What I will tell you is that you are not alone, and there are so many more options for you than inflicting self-harm. If you are hurting yourself and your parents do not know, you need to tell them. I know, I can’t make you do anything, but I can try to persuade you.

Eventually I stopped feeling the same release I would get from cutting myself. I walked in my front door after getting off the bus one day, crying, and saw my step-dad standing in the kitchen. Everything changed. Instead of acting tough and trying to deal with my pain by myself, I melted. I blurted out everything and I was begging for help. I don’t exactly know what took over my mind and pushed me to blurt out everything, but I’m eternally grateful that it happened.

I think a great start to helping kids who are taking part in self-harm or who are dealing with a mental illness is including mental health lessons in gym class. Mrs. Roman, one of the physical education teachers at NASH, has incorporated lessons on mental health into her curriculum over the past couple years. These lessons are an additional opportunity to learn more about how you can help overcome self-harm and find additional resources. During one of Mrs. Roman’s health meetings, Mr. Longo, the district SAP (Student Assistant Program) coordinator, spoke to everyone who is experiencing mental illnesses when he said, “You’re not alone and treatment is available for you. Just find someone who you trust and can talk to.”

If you take away one thing from this article, I hope it is that if you have a mental illness you are not alone, and there are people who want to help you.