Something that most people don’t understand is self harm. Using first hand experience, I am going to show you what goes on inside the mind of a depressed teen.
  

Self harm comes in many different forms. Some people cut their bodies with razors or glass. Others burn themselves with lighters or matches, or even erase their skin away layer by layer with an eraser. One thing I want to make clear, not everyone who self harms is suicidal. I never had any intention of killing myself. Honestly, looking back, I don’t even know why I did it. Most people say they do it to feel something, even if that thing is pain. I felt plenty of pain already. I don’t find pleasure in it, and I don’t like to watch the sight of blood. So why did I do it? Well, I think to answer that I would need to explain more about myself.
  

I have lived through a plethora of hard things. My childhood was pretty rough. I have many “problems”. I’m told that I’m too quick to defend myself, and I have anger issues. But I understand when I’ve done something wrong. I suppose I did it as a sort of twisted punishment. I just wanted to make sure I got better in my behaviour. At the time, I didn’t understand what damage I was doing. Looking back now, I understand that what I did was ridiculous. Self harm is never the answer.
  

Physical self harm isn’t the only form that people use against themselves. Mental self harm, such as putting yourself down, leaving rude messages for yourself, or treating yourself  like your worst enemy. You slowly ebb away at your self confidence. It is awful.
  

Now that I fully understand how stupid it was to do what I did, I know how to help stop it. If you know someone who is contemplating suicide or self harm, please try to do something. Even if that something is just letting them vent out their problems to you, it helps. Everything helps.