I am a different person. Hospitalization?

marisajade · 01-03-2011, 06:32 PM

I have been self-harming for about 14 months now and things have not got better. I have become addicted and can not stop. i have tried counselling and talking to teachers at school but it will not work. Non of my friends or parents know about it and i feel like i have a secret life. I have to constantly hide my scars, make up excuses. I cant take this anymore and have thought about suicide on a number of times.

Do you think Hospitalization will help?
Do my cuts have to be bad to go? They are not that deep :/
I am 16. I think it will be the only way. Or does anyone else have any coping methods to help them stop? All the distractions dont work either ..

Stellata · 01-03-2011, 06:48 PM

Therapy goes deeper than counselling. Medication can also help.

You would be unlikely to be hospitalised unless you are a real danger to yourself. I have periodic suicidal ideation, and I've never been hospitalised. A therapeutic community might be more help for you than hospital, as hospital simply keeps you safe, doesn't work with you on the problems.

What if you spoke to your parents?

My thoughts on distractions is that they can help sometimes like a plaster/bandaid. But really what needs to be faced are the feelings that are leading you to harm yourself.

Hobbes · 01-03-2011, 07:02 PM

Hey :)

I went through pretty much exactly what you just described when i was 16 and im still going through it now. However, some things have changed and personally i dont think hospitalization is the solution (Ive never been hospitalized) unless you are a significant danger to yourself. There are many other alternatives (medication/therapy) that can help.

PM me if you want to talk about anything x

marisajade · 01-03-2011, 08:50 PM

Thanks. what kind of medication is there available ? Anyone know :/ and to get medication or therapy would i need to tell my parents or see a doctor?

Also does anyone know if teachers at school have to inform parents on SI

PassedExpectations · 01-03-2011, 09:03 PM

to get medication or therapy, your parents would probably have to know. if not legally, it would probably come up logistically depending on your age (getting to appts, insurance, that sort of thing).

however, i think that its really important to get the support and resources now, rather than later. i know that i was terrified of my parents knowing, but when they found out it really opened up alot of options and was a big releif, although the first few days were rough (they didn't get angry at me, they were just shocked and didn't know quite what to do, so were overly protective).

like other people have said, the hospital (i'm thinking like a general inpatient unit) is meant for keeping you safe when there isn't any other way to do that. they don't tend to provide much help for the actual issues that are causing the self harm.

marisajade · 01-03-2011, 09:07 PM

Thank you, That helped. Yeh that is what i am most worried about. My parents. It is a scary thought :/

Hobbes · 01-03-2011, 09:08 PM

Im not sure about what medication there is as i dont take any but if you go to the doctor's i dont think they're under obligation to tell your parents as you're 16, but i still think it would be best if they knew. You can get therapy on the NHS, usually through CAMHS because of your age but there's usually quite a long waiting list. You could also see if there's any counselling charities in your area which are usually free.

Not really sure about whether teachers would have to tell...but i think they probably would.

Hope you're alright and take care :)