found out my little sister has been cutting since elementary

[Anonymous]

 so reciently  i(20) had a talk with my sister(13) and she (smiling) told me that shes been scratching(which leaves scars) and biting(so nobody notices anything) herself since she was little to make herself feel better. she feels like when shit is happening in my family its her fault and shes not good enough. shes really smart, in jr high.. they put her in smarter classes kinda like honors.. way better than i was at her age. when i was in jr high i was telling my mom about my father sexually abusing me and how i was concerned he was doing it to her aswell. not doing my work.. they put me in dumber classes saying i needed more one on one attention from teacher.. which i didnt want.. rebeled more and got horrible grades.. so in a way shes doing better than me in the school area.. but i was concerned already with her being bipolar and depressed, way bad lows crying in her room isolated angry at anyone.. ect. yall know the simptoms. well back then i had thought about killing myself and cutting my wrists freaking deep.. not like a repeating thing like a once on each arm and ur done thing.. but i was always too scared to harm myself and when i thought of killing myself i just thought someone somewhere cares about me (a relative or whatever) and would be very hurt if i ever did this.. so i never did.. but my sister told me she had already attempted to kill herself ect.. but my point is my mom forced me to go to therapy and doctors and shed tell them all sorts of bullcrap and id be on all sorts of meds n crap.. which i pocketed when i could cuz i didnt believe in it and i wasnt ready for therapy and i told her that when i was ready i would seek help for myself ect ect of course she didnt listen, she blindedly wanted me to be healed from my abuse. so eventually i got sent to freakin utah into a residential treatment when i was 16 till the day before my 18th bday when i signed myself out (finally) and even before my treatment i had friends that cut and i had talked to them about it and i cared and i was hurt by just knowing thats what they felt they had to do to feel better.. but in treatment u see close to the worst that someone could possibly do to themselves, and im the kinda person that truely feels hurt when a friend hurts themselves.. so when i found out my own sister was doing it too i just got angry and scared and freakin ignorant  because i couldnt see the signs in my own sister!! i know its not serious bleeding cuts or trying to kill herself. she just scratches with 'whatever sharp things she can find like broken glass or plastic' ect but i am still worried about her. any advice from past cutters or anyone who has gone through simmalar experciences? what should i do or not do..  or say or not say..? thanks

[Oscar]

Well - let keep two things apart.

Cutting is not suicide.

Cutting is a way remove heavy stuff from your emotional bagpack. Some use a therapist, some are lucky to have someone they can trust, some works things out by seeking lonelyness and some cut.

All the methods works well, but cutting leaves scars and there is a risk of infection.

If you want her to stop cutting, you should help her to find another way to get her heavy load off.

It doens't take a treatment center.

Who can she talk to? A social worker, a priest etc. Try to be creative. If you know that going to your mother would be equal to having her locked up, help her to find another adult she can talk to. You don't need to involve your mom.

I havn't met a person, who once in a while stumble over events in life, which takes extra effort to work out. It can be people loosing their lives, watching a traffic accident etc. We all need to find our way to deal with such things.

Create an account and p.m. me. Create a email address for this purpose, so you can remain anonymous.

[Anonymous]

This is the same troll as "Olivia". 2/10

Don't worry though, you'll get plenty of takers. Lots of people on fornits who love to tell people how they should be living their life, even if their fake. Armchair psychologists who wouldn't lift a finger to help you, unless it involves spouting off on subjects they know nothing about.

Go ahead and try if you need help. Post your phone number, ask for someone to meet you, for a place to stay, or for some money. You'll get nothing other than hot air on fornits, sorry to be the one to break it to you.

[Anonymous]

What, no one's suggested "Vertically along the path of the vein" yet?

You're slipping, Fornits. Don't make me raise the hate quotient back where it belongs.

[psy]

If you're real (not a fake troll, which there are many of on this site), I would suggest talking to the police about your father in relation to your own experiences.  Chances are he's doing the same to your sister, and that needs to stop.  Only you can do that.  As I understand it, cutting is often a symptom of sexual abuse.  Your sister shouldn't have to suffer like that.

Your story is somewhat typical.  I knew a girl in the program who was there for reasons related to her father's abuse.

PS: please ignore the local asshole guest posters.  This site is unmoderated and anybody can and does post here.

[Anonymous]

oh believe me my father is long locked up for what he did to me so hes out of the picture so if thats the underlying issue of why shes doing this than its past abuse that she may have blocked out of her memory its gonna take a while for her to talk just like it did for me. time to build trust. ect. i just want more info about positive coping skills that have worked to replace self harm for other ppl please