The Struggles of a Teenager- Self Harm and Eating Disorders

The thought of starving or harming yourself may seem impossible to you. It also may seem illogical to you that you could possibly feel better by hurting yourself in any way.

Self harm and eating disorders are not logical; they are emotional responses. They also SEEM like a logical response to the emotional issue that person is going through. Self harm and eating disorders are used as a coping skill for someone that does not have or has not been taught healthy coping skills.

Self harm and eating disorders only effect teenage girls.

This is simply not true. Teenage boys also struggle with eating disorders and self harm.

Self harm is not a “female problem”. Self harm can happen for many reasons; none of which are issues only females deal with. Self harm is a way to cope with feelings that they feel cannot be expressed. It also gives a sense of control when everything else feels out of control. Similar to the need for control one feels when it comes to eating disorders.

Both eating disorders and self harm are very dangerous and they can both leave physical and mental scars for life.

What can I do to help?

It is very important to understand that self harm and eating disorders cannot be simply fixed by forcing your teen to eat, or stopping them from cutting, burning, or harming themselves. It goes much deeper than that. There is an underlining problem that needs to be addressed in order for true healing to happen.

Because of that, it is very important that they speak with a professional. They will be able to help address the underlying problem, learn healthy coping skills, and find healing.

If your teen is struggling with an eating disorder or harming themselves, we can help. Contact us and start the healing for your child.