Should I tell my friends? Any advice or tips?

[AlmostHomeless]

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[secretly_secret]

I told my friend today. she is concerned, but she swore not to tell anyone unless I got suicidal. And we have the same relationship. So, I would. It is hard, but worth it. :)

[DarkHorses]

Hey,

I think that it's really a test of friendship. Your true friends are going to stick by you when and if they find out about your cutting. I think it would be extremely brave of you to tell them, and it might help you out in the long run. It's not fun or easy to keep secrets like that, and having it at least a little bit more out in the open might help you to feel as if you're not so alone.

That being said, though, it has to be your decision. I don't think you should decide to tell your friends for only their sake. I think you need to tell them in order to help yourself as well. Otherwise it doesn't really seem like there's a purpose to it. I mean, yeah, it's great that you care about your friends and that they are concerned, but you need to be concerned about yourself as well. Reason being is because once you tell your friends, they're going to expect that you're trying to overcome this. So it might help if you truly felt ready to overcome it, and are willing to do so.

If you do tell them, I hope that things work out for you and your friends. Good luck :)

[AlmostHomeless]

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[ryantombs]

Ok so i told two people one person cuz it slipped out from other things but she nvr told anyone and hasnt even like asked how i was doing but w.e. Then this past saturday i told my friend and it dealt with her mahority why i started cutting so then we were both in tears and i ripped up my shorts and went look see do yu kno what yu have to be in to do this and she jus turned she cudnt look... Ended up her telling her parents who are both cops ones a detective who works in skool and the othr is a cheif but then they told my parents and was forced to goto therapy but anyways yea i was betrayed as hell and dot trust her tht much but i always said i cud trust her with my life and wen i told my therapist tht my therapist went well didnt yu jus trust her wit practically yur life and shes right so all in all ive dealt both ways and she could have saved my life not sucicidal but maybe i cud have been if i didnt tell anyone... Point im making is that maybe they might tell but it could save yu i kno its hard. Trust me. I told y therapistthat i didnt want to talk to anyone and stuff straight but i feel if yu and yur friends are close they will do wats right. Bith of my friends acted right but yeeh thats my experience

[secretly_secret]

Yeah, well now I'm wondering if maybe I shouldn't have told her.
Everytime I'm on gmail, she's like, "Are you okay?" "Call this number!"
"If you get worse, I'm telling someone." Stuff like that. So I'm wondering if it's a bad idea that I told her.

[Kelasta]

I wouldn't if i were you, unless you know them sooooperdooper well.
My story;
I told this girl and she was a bit like :eek: . And I told her to keep shush because nobody wants everyone to know, but she went and told the student support manager at school, who's a total cow. :whip: And she kept me in her office for about, 3 hours so I would admit that I cut myself. In the end i got away with 'I used to do it about 8 months ago.' And each day for about a month after that she made me show her my arms and she was all horrible. Someone also told about my boyfriend too, he denied it but she said 'If i find out you do it, i'll be very disappointed in you and you'll be in trouble.'...seriously?

However i've told some friends and they've helped me, so it really depends on how much you've been able to trust them in the past. :props:

[xktx]

I have the closest best friend... I told him, sometimes you dont realise how much you just need someone you can be truly open with. It makes it easier, and we're closer now then we ever have been <3 I could never get better without him xx
So, I recommend try, just dont overload them, try gently explaining it, so they know you trust them before you bombard them with everything, remember they dont know much about this, so its all new to them. Itll take some explaining, and sometimes it gets annoying, but its worth it. xxx Good luck, always here if you want to talk.x

[Amaryllis]

You should decide who you should tell. Which of them do you think would understand? Turns out -a lot- of my friends scratch and break a few layers of skin. The start of a cutter. Which of them do you think is empathetic and/or mature enough to understand?

You need to be a good judge of character. Some people don't nor want to understand. Pick those that do. Good luck sweetheart :)

Love,
Faith and Trust

[FullyAlive]

The majority of my close friends know or could probably guess, and most of them are incredibly supportive, two read up on it so they could try their best to understand. Sure they still say stupid things sometimes, but they try their best and thats all you can ask for. And I'd say whilst my life hasn't got easier because they know, having a few friends who you can turn too when you just need someone, that really helps.

However my "best friend" didn't understand and made no attempt to. I don't discuss it with her, I don't tell her about anything. And whilst in a way we still have the same friendship which is good. There is also a barrier between us.

I'd really advise you to tell your friends I can't stress enough how having people there to support you can really get you through difficult times. And hopefully they'll be like the majority of my friends and try their hardest to understand.

[xXl0sth0peXx]

It's honestly a matter of how comfortable and ready you are.

If you're ready, go for it!

Good luck <3