hi all. im 16 years old and im a junior in high school. i live with my mom. my parents are divorced and my dad wants nothing to do with me. im gay and happily in love with my girlfriend of a year and a half, but there are a lot of things that constantly remind me of the emotional baggage that i carry on my shoulders. a few years ago i was abused by a family member and ever since things havent been the same. i tend to bottle up all my emotions and not talk to anyone and i resort to self mutilation. on top of the stress and nightmares that i reoccuringly get, my dad kicked me out and wants nothing to do with me because im gay. my mom has been very supportive of me but she doesnt understand the severity of what i am going through. and i cant talk to her. i try to open up to my girlfriend but that doesnt work either. any suggestions? i need to learn to not resort to this kind of “escape.” what can i do to get out of this habit?
first off, congrats on coming out! That was the hardest thing in the world for me and unfortunately over 4 years later I’m still dealing with it. Anyone that you want to understand self injury better, i would give them the Bodily Harm book listed on this website (or any major bookstore/library) A friend was giving me a hard time about it once and I just didn’t know how to talk to her about it so I just let her read the book and she understood more of why I was doing what I was doing…just a suggestion. I’m glad you and your girl are happy…and again, proud of you for having the strength to come out so young! Stay strong 🙂
thanks(: it means a lot to know that there is someone else out there that actually can relate. my gf was a former injurer as well and she has been strong. shes had the urge to but she has resisted and hasnt gave in for over a year now. she really wants to help me but she lives 3 hours from me and i very rarely get to see her. we rely on texting phone calls and skype a lot but we get by. thanks for the words of encouragement(: