georgiamay
October 16th, 2011, 04:58 PM
I know for most of you, this is the last thing you want to do. But from my experience, I wish I’d been the one to tell my parents about it. So here goes:
1) They’ll find out eventually anyway, so you might as well be the one to tell them instead of them hearing it from someone else. My parents found out through the school the first time, and from reading my diary the next time. Honestly, I wish I’d just told them to begin with. Do you really think you’ll be able to keep it from them forever? They will find out, so you might as well have control over how they find out about it.
2) They’ll know what’s happened if you ever need to go to hospital. Imagine if you cut too deep and needed stitches, and your parents found out? Imagine what would be going through their head, they might even think it’s a suicide attempt. If you’d explained to them before-hand that you’ve got a problem with self harm, and that it’s not a suicide attempt, they’ll be a lot more aware and understanding in this kind of situation.
3) You can get help. This might be the last thing you want, but it’s the best thing for you, whatever you say. If you ask your parents to get you some help, I highly doubt they’ll say no. Ask them to take you to see your doctor about it, they don’t have to come in, but I’m sure they’d like to know about what kind of help you’re getting. If you’re under 18, you can’t get help without your parents knowing. Therefore, you should tell your parents about it before going to get help so they don’t here it from a doctor/someone else.
4) You won’t have to come up with excuses for covering up. This is a big problem for a lot of people. Say you’re out shopping with your mum, and she picks up a dress and suggests that you go any try it on, but you have scars all the way up your arms. If you mum didn’t know about it, you’d have to come up with an excuse quite quickly. If she did know, you could just say “I can’t wear that.” And you wouldn’t need to say anything else, because she’d know why. You wouldn’t have to lie your way out of family trips to the swimming pool either.
5) If you tell them, their reaction will probably be better than if they find out after you’ve kept it from them. A lot of people are scared to tell their parents because they’re scared of how they’ll react. I can garuntee you that their reaction would be a lot worse if they find out another way.
I think the way you tell your parents is a very personal thing, and it depends on you and your parents, so me giving advice wouldn’t work for everyone.
1) They’ll find out eventually anyway, so you might as well be the one to tell them instead of them hearing it from someone else. My parents found out through the school the first time, and from reading my diary the next time. Honestly, I wish I’d just told them to begin with. Do you really think you’ll be able to keep it from them forever? They will find out, so you might as well have control over how they find out about it.
2) They’ll know what’s happened if you ever need to go to hospital. Imagine if you cut too deep and needed stitches, and your parents found out? Imagine what would be going through their head, they might even think it’s a suicide attempt. If you’d explained to them before-hand that you’ve got a problem with self harm, and that it’s not a suicide attempt, they’ll be a lot more aware and understanding in this kind of situation.
3) You can get help. This might be the last thing you want, but it’s the best thing for you, whatever you say. If you ask your parents to get you some help, I highly doubt they’ll say no. Ask them to take you to see your doctor about it, they don’t have to come in, but I’m sure they’d like to know about what kind of help you’re getting. If you’re under 18, you can’t get help without your parents knowing. Therefore, you should tell your parents about it before going to get help so they don’t here it from a doctor/someone else.
4) You won’t have to come up with excuses for covering up. This is a big problem for a lot of people. Say you’re out shopping with your mum, and she picks up a dress and suggests that you go any try it on, but you have scars all the way up your arms. If you mum didn’t know about it, you’d have to come up with an excuse quite quickly. If she did know, you could just say “I can’t wear that.” And you wouldn’t need to say anything else, because she’d know why. You wouldn’t have to lie your way out of family trips to the swimming pool either.
5) If you tell them, their reaction will probably be better than if they find out after you’ve kept it from them. A lot of people are scared to tell their parents because they’re scared of how they’ll react. I can garuntee you that their reaction would be a lot worse if they find out another way.
I think the way you tell your parents is a very personal thing, and it depends on you and your parents, so me giving advice wouldn’t work for everyone.