Teens Doing Self-Mutilation to Deal With Stress

WTLV ^

[esryle]

JACKSONVILLE, FL -- It's a disturbing new trend in teens. One in four young girls do something to their bodies called self-mutilation.

In 19-year-old Esther Maassen's case, a razor blade, basically anything sharp is what she would use on her feet.

"Anything sharp so I could see myself bleed," she says.

Why she does it may surprise you.

"A lot of people don't get it. They drink when they get upset or something. We cut."

It's not a suicide attempt but an addiction. Those who do it say it helps to relieve stress.

"It wasn't the children you would suspect," says mom and Jacksonville school teacher, Kathi Wedner. She has seen first hand kids who cut. Wedner saw her own students doing it, but she says she never suspected her own daughter.

"She cut a design into her wrist. It was sadness. It was guilt. It was shock. I wanted very desperately to help her."

Girls are more likely than boys to self-mutilate. Middle to high school aged girls are the most at risk. Duval County school psychologist, Dr. David Chesire, says he's heard of a child as young as six-years-old cutting their body. "It's very secretive and these kids do anything they can to hide the fact they have been engaged in these behaviors and those close to them have no idea it's happening."

It's an addiction that leaves kids with scars from their arms to their chests. It's an addiction Esther Maassen is still fighting. "It's the only thing that sometimes can calm me down and it becomes really addictive and I'm still trapped into it."

Signs parents need to look for: unexplained cuts and scratches that never seem to heal; cuts and scratches paired with signs of depression or low self-esteem; kids who wear long, baggy clothing in the summer to cover up their bodies.

[Drammach]

OK.. "Virtual Mode" by Piers Anthony..

The many fans of Piers Anthony's Xanth adventures were delighted when he created a thrilling new science fantasy series with the publication of Virtual Mode a decade ago.

The saga of Colleen, a troubled young girl from a harsh environment who escapes into a fantastic realm of multiple realities, the Mode series combined colorful and imaginative storytelling with thoughtful consideration of serious concerns, including depression, suicide, and abuse.

He also wrote the XANTH series..as well as "Omnivore" ( a personal favorite of mine..)

[Free Trapper]

Is this the same type thing as when young people let a cigarette burn on themselves?

EX52D-Welcome to FR. :)

[ItsOurTimeNow]

Huge Xanth fan here. Always wished they'd make "Ogre, Ogre" into a movie...it's possibly my favorite story of all time.

I also really liked his "Incarnations of Immortality" series.

[EX52D]

I never did that, although it could be similar. For me, I guess you could say I was a classic "cutter"...

[broken_will_crimson_tears]

Speak as you like. As a self-mutilator and a teenager, I disagree. I can ignore those lies, because I can always find the truth behind them. Why then do I cut? Because I feel no pain, I feel only comfort. The razor blade is my solace. In a world where it has become impossible to talk to parents, friends, or anyone, the razor blade is the only one who will listen to my silent screams and tell me everything will be all right. The cuts are hardly life threatening, I mean they're just a bunch of crevasse's in my skin. So long as I put antibiotics on them, there is no way I'm going to die from this. I'm not suicidal, I do this to survive. I know my limits, and would never overstep them. We are cutters, we don't do this for you to blab about, we do this to escape a constant sort of numbness that has overtaken our lives, or mine at the least. Farewell. Do not assume the motives of anyone.

[Richard Kimball]

They mutilate themselves because they live in a culture that encourages it.

[broken_will_crimson_tears]

Very good series, I own every book written by Piers Antony. Some of them aren't all that good though, like Pornicopia... Some of his new ones aren't real nice either, like Cube Route... I loved the Incarnations Immortality series though... My favorite was For the Love of Evil. My Xanth favorite was Zombie Lover...

[broken_will_crimson_tears]

Really? Our culture encourages it? How come I show people the cuts and scars and I'm automatically an outcast? How come I have to wear long pants when its 90 degrees outside so I don't get called a freak or a satanist... I've even been called a goth for what I do to myself. Really... if thats encouragement... what's discouragement?

[ItsOurTimeNow]

Your answer does not lie in a razor blade, it lies within Him - the Lord who heals, comforts, and guides.

"When the night seems so long
you can sing a new song
when you're weak, He is strong
He can heal your wounded soul
and calm the storm inside."

"Let Everything That Has Breath" - Sixpence None the Richer

[Mustng959]

I know what you mean, ladylib. I have 8 acres of very wooded land where we live in the country. In my day, there wouldn't have been one tree out there that I hadn't climbed or tried to build a treehouse in or fallen out of. My daughters (in their teens) haven't even been in those woods. Didn't have many toys and video games were still in the future. I had my bicycle (with a banana seat) , a baseball glove, a BB gun and a bow and arrow (amazing that I didn't shoot my eye out), comic books, baseball cards.... and mostly imagination. I had 3 sisters and no brothers so self entertainment was a must. Had everything a kid needed!

broken_will_crimson_tears: according to your bio, you are only 13. There's a whole world out there to enjoy and explore! Pick -up games of sports, maybe youth fellowship at church, learn to play a musical instrument... There are people who do care about you but sometimes we as adults don't take the time when we're younger and trying to make a living to enjoy our time with our families and children. I look back now and wonder where time went as my daughters will soon be graduating high school and ready to abandon the nest. Missing the days when they were wide-eyed with wonder and having a new dress to wear on Easter Sunday was a thrill. I always heard that's why God gave us grandchildren, to enjoy what we may have missed with our own children. Take care... be positive and believe in yourself... those are the keys to self happiness and everything else falls into place. I coach youth teams in sports and if I don't teach them anything else, I hope to instill self-confidence and the desire to be part of a team. Life isn't always rosy but its what we make of the bad times that helps us to deal with problems in the future and be able to conquer them.

[HankReardon]

Teen-agers have such a hard life, they have to endure the deaths of their siblings from numerous childhood diseases. They have to work at the homestead, in the fields behind the horses. Always wary of savages that would kidnap or kill them. There's always wood to chop, CHOP, no chainsaw.
wild animals, some rabid had to be contended with.
Well, I guess if stress is the cause of teenagers mutilating themselves, teen-agers from 200-250 years ago probably were hacking themselves up everyday. What a bunch of BULL!

[broken_will_crimson_tears]

I've got a near perfect life. I don't cut because of my problems or stress or anything. And I do have a bit of an ego, definatly not a lack in self-confidence. I cut because I want to. Thank you for your advice, but my life is my own to live or to not live. I admire people such as yourself who contain such a compassion as to help to those in need with wise words. Even if I do not want your wisdom, I thank you for your compassion. I'm currently trying to quit cutting, four days! Thats the longest I've gone in a really long time...

[cyborg]

I'm a recovering cutter. Have been 'cut free' for a few years now. Your body is not your own. It is a gift from God. Cutting 'because you want to' is not God's will for your life. If you truly want to quit, you can. Just don't think you can do it on your own.

[broken_will_crimson_tears]

I can quit on my own and I shall. The Lord didn't make me start cutting, and he's not going to stop me. My body might be 'a temple for the holy spirit' and all, but if so, He'll take me and my scars. My scars and cuts are as much part of me as is the Lord. I'm a Christian, but somewhere along the line I lost sight of that. I can and will stop, completely by my own will. If anything, I can ask the Lord to let me fight my own battle.

[cyborg]

Yeah you go ahead and believe that but I'm telling you it's a lie. The devil is a good liar. You are in need of some serious spiritual guidance as well as therapy.

[Squantos]

Fry Pie's ....2 dollars a gross !

[broken_will_crimson_tears]

I shall believe that. But in the end, Jesus has my soul. Though I may stray along the way and I feel I am not worthy of his forgiveness, I have asked him to forgive. Maybe the devil has deceived me, and by all reckoning the Inferno is my destination. But the Lord has my soul. I wish for no help, either because of pride, the deadly thing, or unworthiness. The world of religion today is lies. The bible and the Lord are the only things that speak the truth. Spiritual guidance in this world is hardly worth the time on the earth granted to us by God.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

"When I was a kid, my parents would have to make me come inside."

LOL! We were in sooo much trouble if we weren't home when the streelights came on. You still can't keep me inside once 40 degree weather hits. DH usually has to drag me in out of the garden.

As for this cutting thing, I agree with the posters who said these kids have too much, no accountability, parents that set no boundaries for them and too much time on their hands.

Get a part-time job, or go do some volunteer work in your community!

Yes, I'm a Mom. My three can tell you stories of how horribly I "abused" them while they were growing up with chores and responsibilities. Mean Moms Rock! And their kids don't have time for this pathetic attention-getting indulgence.

[ShadowDancer]

Jesus, that picture just literally made me shudder.

[broken_will_crimson_tears]

Attention getting? Are you sure? I've cut for over a year, and not until recently did a single soul know. Still my parents don't know as I struggle to defeat RISID(Repetitive Impulsive Self Injury Disorder). I have gained no attention from my self-destructive behavior. I dwell in quiet corners, avoiding any attention. Cutting can be brought on by various mental disorders, including Borderline Personality Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, rarely by Skitsophrenia, and Depression. I am one who has depression. I am stymied, why you would call something so secretive attention-getting?