the life Essay

A Friends Secret Shame


Self- harm is when someone deliberately hurts themselves: cutting, burning, punching, scratching and even throwing themselves against something are only a few examples. Young people may start to self – harm as a way of dealing with problems and pressures of everyday life. Self-harm is more common in young people than we think, although it is impossible to say an exact statistic as many people hurt themselves secretly and never ask for help or counselling.  
Eating disorders and drug abuse are also a form of self-harm. People see self-harm as a way of escaping the problems and pains of life. Some young people self-harm on a regular basis while others do it just once or even a few times, giving them relief from the overwhelming pain or anxiety in their lives which makes the prospect of giving it up unthinkable to many.
Finding out at the start of this year that one of my close friends self-harmed totally shocked me and I have never looked upon the issue in the same light again.   Although I had heard of self- harm I never knew that much about it or even contemplated that my friend was doing it.
I found it really hard to accept and believe. I knew something was wrong but needed to hear it from her before I could believe it. The time it took for her to actually tell me and come out with it only made me feel worse because I knew there was a problem that she was not able to tell me about.
I felt incredibly guilty for not realising she self-harmed and was going through so much alone. I understand why she did not want me to know as she was embarrassed and ashamed but still I felt bad for not being there for her. I could not imagine ever-inflicting physical damage to myself under any circumstances so I found it hard to understand her reasoning for doing it. I was constantly worried that if I said the wrong thing to her she would just get worse. Saying goodbye to her was always the hardest as I was worried that if I was not there then...