The 21st Century Romanticism of Personable Mutilation

I was appalled to find there are multiple forms of self-harm, and that specific self-mutilation is one of the few. Lip biting, scab picking, fingernail chewing, cutting, burning, eating disorders, the list goes on. Most are caused by anxiety driven tendencies: picking at dead skin, or fiddling with fingernails, everyone does though right? Even still, because there is stress, it is a form of self harm. Something so small, one would think it wouldn’t be such a big deal. However, self harm related suicides are rising in numbers with each passing month. With self-harm becoming a go-to “escape” for those who are pressed far down into a hole, depression is more than a temporary sadness. Three people I know have died due to self-harm related incidents, two of them had no suicidal tendencies. While the usual first thought accompanied with self-harm is “Oh, they’re trying to kill themselves,” I speak for those of us who struggle with recovery. Engaging in self-harm does not make someone suicidal. Self-harm numbers are rising, and it’s a problem that some wish to ignore. It’s a disease; a sickness that takes over an entire being and warps the thought process into believing the only way to feel alive is to prove there is still a pulse. It’s a battle, and it’s been ignored for far too long.

I am a survivor. While there are others in the world that, no doubt, have had it far worse than I, still day by day I find myself alive and well. Struggling with self-harm has been a fight for survival, and I am at least proud enough to say I have made it this far, and I am still fighting. In 2010, I lost a close friend to an eating disorder. He was a star student, he made his parents proud, had many friends and people adored him, but he purged himself dai...

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...times that wanting to control the pain someone feels results in hospital visits, or worse: suicide. Though not every person who self harms has suicide in mind, some just want something to feel other than numb. It’s a terrible addiction that consumes and controls the mind. It becomes the only mean of escape, or living. To hurt one’s self to feel alive, it’s sickening. Depression is a disease with no cure, and self harm assisted with depression is a cancer of the mind. The process of recovery is anything but easy. Even if there is progress being made, there are times that a feeling of unworthiness takes over and it can lead to relapses. Noticing the signs and lending a hand could make all the difference. This could be anything like change in eating habit, change in normal dress attire, bandages, lack of social interest, and loss of interest in activities or relations.