Even when no traumatic event has happened to you, accumulated problems which you did not deal with from the past can be enough to cause depression. You don’t need to have to experience a traumatic event to be depressed.

Like sweeping a floor- if you always sweep the dust under the carpet you will find the floor clean, but the truth is it is hidden under the carpet where you cannot see. Then one day, you lift up the carpet and to the shock of your life, you discover a big pile of dust and rubbish on the floor. This is similar to life; if you escape from problems, and did not solve them at the time they happened, one day all the past events may flood back to you like a gush of water from an opened dam. This situation is enough to make you sink into depression and confusion.

Self-harming doesn’t depend on how serious the problem is as OTHERS see it. It’s how serious YOU see it. A problem which affects you a lot is a problem, however small it may seem. An issue which bothers you, causing you to lose a week’s sleep may not have the same effect on another person. One person can see an issue as a disaster, while others may not even give a second thought to it.
As you know, self-harm is a coping mechanism. It doesn’t matter how serious the problem is. It is a way to cope with emotions one does not know how to handle.

Also, do not believe that young people won’t feel depressed or will not have depression. Depression happens to people of all age groups, all cultures and all races; it can happen to children from as young as 7 years old. In the clinic that I am attached to, the self-harm victim is as young as 2 years old. It was unprofessional of your doctor to suggest that you do not have reason to be depressed.


Angela