Self-Injury

Sometimes the internet sucks you in...the only way out, sometimes, is to share what you are finding by putting your thoughts and feelings in to writing.

I started out today trying to find a group/person that I had once heard about called the butterfly mission. It was/is (I have had no luck finding it so I don't know if it still exists) a tool to help self-injurers stop before they harm themselves.

The idea is to draw a butterfly on yourself with a permanent marker. Then try not to hurt the butterfly.

Well, in the process of searching around I found some positive discussion/quotes, and a few new websites to help those who struggle with self-injury.

Here are the web addresses:

http://crystal.palace.net/~llama/selfinjury/
http://www.selfharmony.co.uk/
http://www.recoveryourlife.com/

Then I read this quote from a member of a group on facebook...

"We are male and female. We are artists, athletes, students, and business owners. We have depression, DID, PTSD, eating disorders, borderline personalities, bipolar disorder, or maybe no formal diagnosis at all. Some of us were abused, some were not. We are straight, bi, and gay. We come from all walks of life and can be any age. We are every single race or religion that you can possibly think of. Our common link is this: We are in pain. We self-injure. And we are not freaks."

**a special note to partners** You have no control over if your partner self-injures or not....do like the Martina McBride song says....love them anyway....Here is a link with some advice for partners: http://partners.aest.org.uk/how_to_help_those_who_self_harm.html

**a special note to those who were/are self-injurers** Give yourself a big hug...you are precious and more importantly...you are not alone