What do I say?

[pvanhouten]

My best friend had a problem with self harm earlier this year... I never knew what to say to him... He stopped for a while now though, but in case he does start up again what should I tell him???

[tubanic]

You need to be supportive of him. Don't bring it up if he doesn't want to talk about it, but if he does, be there to listen to him. Don't pressure him into stopping, maybe suggest he sees a psychologist? But as you say he has stopped, so unless you see he has started again, don't do anything.

[Starscream]

Well if he has stopped, you shouldn't bring it up as it may be a trigger for him.

If it does happen again, just tell him the story of your self harm and try to discourage it. You cannot stop him alone, all you can do is discourage it and support him.

If you feel like he may commit suicide, I would probably tell his parents or an adult he trusts.

[joshM1996]

as the others are saying dont mention the self harm directly, tell him what he means to you and that youre always there for him if he needs you, im an ex self harmer myself and honestly having support is the greatest thing. side note, if he does start up again try the butterfly project with him(you can google it and learn all you need to know about it) its the reason i quit and am still off of it, it is normal for people to try it again after theyve quit though, i did it once after i quit and it just wasnt the same so thats why i dont do it anymore. if you want to talk about it more you can message me anytime

[pvanhouten]

as the others are saying dont mention the self harm directly, tell him what he means to you and that youre always there for him if he needs you, im an ex self harmer myself and honestly having support is the greatest thing. side note, if he does start up again try the butterfly project with him(you can google it and learn all you need to know about it) its the reason i quit and am still off of it, it is normal for people to try it again after theyve quit though, i did it once after i quit and it just wasnt the same so thats why i dont do it anymore. if you want to talk about it more you can message me anytime

Thanks for the info... and I'm glad to here you've stopped for good.

[joshM1996]

Thanks for the info... and I'm glad to here you've stopped for good.

no problem, i hate hearing about people struggling with self harm, it hits close to home. and thanks, it feels great finally having stopped, hopefully youre friend stops for good

[James Bond]

You must support him and give him words of encouragement. Always make sure you're there for him too, even if he calls you in the middle of the night be there for him. You'd want the same done to you. You could maybe organise certain times that you two talk.

[Perfectly Flawed]

Make sure he knows you are always there for him, but don't make it seem like it's easy to stop.

[Miserabilia]

Dont try to stop him, you cant just stop someone with something like that, just be there for him i guess

[pvanhouten]

What do I say to the people who see his battle scares and ask, point, and laugh?

[EmptySoul]

What do I say to the people who see his battle scares and ask, point, and laugh?


just tell them that they need to grow up and that it is not a laughing matter. However, I Sh and don't always mind people makign lighthearted jokes aboutit, yes it bothers me but i get that in today's sciety people are a lot more insensitive to these sort of matters, so if the person/people are targettign him or he is upset by their commetns stand up for him it will show him that you are there and that you care, also that his SH desn't repulse you - which I know i fear my friends feeling that way towards me if they ever find out.