An Artist of Another Kind

~Gargi Kaushik

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There are many ways to express our anger, guilt, sadness, pain, etc. We write down our feelings in a diary, draw in our journals or sometimes just talk to the people close to us. But, there are a few people who do not do any of these, they go down a different lane. This path is called Self-harm. I think we all know what self-harm means so I won't be explaining that, what I do want to tell is a story. I had a very bubbly, happy and extremely timely light-hearted friend. She was quite the social butterfly, but then something happened. She smiled less, barely ate, constantly compared herself to others and always demotivated herself. One of the major changes was that she started wearing full sleeves, no matter the weather. Eventually, she started shutting everyone out and then one day I saw it, I saw her scars. They were deep and marked into her skin. She doesn’t do it anymore but whatever she shared with me was quite heart-breaking.

Mental issues are like a chain, one condition leads to another and another, and the cycle never really ends. People who self-harm see that as the only escape or the only way to cope. Extreme emotional distress is what causes self-harm. When teenagers have a lot on their plate with no one around to understand them, they start blaming themselves. This blame or guilt of being alone or not being good enough to satisfy people emotionally and mentally weakens the child. Now the main question is, why do teens self-harm? Self-injury is a way of coping with anxiety, pressure, stress, etc. It is an addiction that gives temporary relief from all the pain, but these feelings are so strong that they return briskly. Self-harm is not considered a mental illness, it is a result of another aching pain, like depression.

Teens who self-harm do it in private either to gain solace from their very loud minds or to seek help. At times they publicly try to show their scars so others notice and come to help them, maybe because they are afraid of talking about how they feel or because they want to be noticed. I want to share a few types of self-harm that not many are aware of.

Scratching, biting

Hitting or punching walls or themselves

Pulling of hair

Extremely hot water showers

Picking at wounds

Highly excessive exercising

Starvation

To sum it all up, self-harm is not something to be taken lightly. A person suffering from self-harm is indirectly thinking about suicide. It is our duty and the people close to them to make them feel loved and safe. They should realize what they are doing is wrong, not in the eyes of society, but for themselves. Things like these leave an impact on the person even after they are out of their little bubble. People who self-harm may at times pretend to be alright after they’ve gone through it but a small part of their mind is forever in the other dimension, thinking about everything. These people also love the most, because they know what it feels like to not be loved. They deserve all the love, care and safety we can give them, after all, they are humans too.