Self Harm in Teens

By Kenny N

When you’ve pent-up so much emotion, what do you do?

On one side, it’ll be meditation, rehabilitation, or one’s peace of mind. On the other side, it’ll be fighting, shouting, or being lost.

However, all of these won’t come up with a solution to what’s harming* your mind. Then, we build up mixed emotions to the point of having a mental breakdown.

Eventually, with no support from dealing with the mixed emotions, it’ll turn into a mental crisis, in which they tend to do irrational thoughts, such as self-harm or self-injury. When some people are doing self-harm, it’s not an attempt to do suicide, but a way to cope with the emotions they are going through, Crisis Textline said.

Furthermore, when it comes to teenagers dealing with built up emotions, especially during the stages of maturing, some never tried to look for help because of the shame built, reputation gained and parents knowing, Pastran said.

Jennifer Tran, a former student of Yerba Buena, lived in an interactive-friendly community until she moved due to rent. Then, she resorted to self-harm from the bullying in the new community.

“I was miserable when the people treated me this way, but I felt anger for myself for having to do self-injury,” Tran said.

However, Tran is not alone — there are also victims who resorted to self-harm around the world.

“During the stressful teen years, most adolescents experience emotional highs and lows, but for more than 20 percent of teenagers, their worries and sad feelings turn into something more serious, like anxiety or depression. Studies show that 13 percent to 18 percent of distressed teens physically injure themselves via cutting, burning or other forms of self-harm as a way to cope with their pain,” according to Juli Fraga in his article “When Teens Cyberbully Themselves” from NPR.

Furthermore, in a case study by Journal of Child and Family studies, 21% of teens engaged in self-harm, and this increased even more when they experienced both victimization and bullying.