"The truth is that according to the World Health Organization, depression is one of the leading causes of disability, with approximately 121 million people suffering with depression worldwide. The National Institute of Mental Health states that approximately 18 million people suffer from depression in America alone. Depression does not discriminate across age, race, gender, or class. Among teenagers it is estimated that 20 percent will suffer from depression at some point by the time they reach adulthood. There are also as many as 8.3 percent of teens suffering from depression for at least a year at a time, compared to 5.3 percent of the general population.
Insprired by the work of TWLOHA (To Write Love On Her Arms), an organization created to spread awareness for teen depression, self-injury, and suicide, we are coming together to make sure the whole world knows. We are not directly affiliated with TWOLHA, but are in great support of their work To find out more about TWLOHA visit their Facebook Group here: [link]
During the time of year that suicide rates are at their highest, we chose February 13, the day before Valentine's Day, as our opportunity to start showing people how much they are loved. We will physically write the word LOVE on our arms (with a sharpie, or whatever other ink suits you best). If someone asks you what it’s for, tell them about TWLOHA. Tell them they are loved, that they are important. And ask if you can write LOVE on their arm as a symbol of that. Don't be afraid to reach out to those who need love, those who you often walk right by every day. They need our care.
There is NO set time, there is NO set location. Where you are, when you are there, speak out.
Some of us may choose to share the love of God, but we want you to share whatever love is strongest for you. Depression has no boundaries, but neither does our love.
"The truth is that according to the World Health Organization, depression is one of the leading causes of disability, with approximately 121 million people suffering with depression worldwide. The National Institute of Mental Health states that approximately 18 million people suffer from depression in America alone. Depression does not discriminate across age, race, gender, or class. Among teenagers it is estimated that 20 percent will suffer from depression at some point by the time they reach adulthood. There are also as many as 8.3 percent of teens suffering from depression for at least a year at a time, compared to 5.3 percent of the general population.
Insprired by the work of TWLOHA (To Write Love On Her Arms), an organization created to spread awareness for teen depression, self-injury, and suicide, we are coming together to make sure the whole world knows. We are not directly affiliated with TWOLHA, but are in great support of their work To find out more about TWLOHA visit their Facebook Group here: [link]
During the time of year that suicide rates are at their highest, we chose February 13, the day before Valentine's Day, as our opportunity to start showing people how much they are loved. We will physically write the word LOVE on our arms (with a sharpie, or whatever other ink suits you best). If someone asks you what it’s for, tell them about TWLOHA. Tell them they are loved, that they are important. And ask if you can write LOVE on their arm as a symbol of that. Don't be afraid to reach out to those who need love, those who you often walk right by every day. They need our care.
There is NO set time, there is NO set location. Where you are, when you are there, speak out.
Some of us may choose to share the love of God, but we want you to share whatever love is strongest for you. Depression has no boundaries, but neither does our love.
How do you describe depression to someone who has no concept, people close try to understand, nod their heads in the right place but have no concept really.
Depression is not blue nor sad...depression is like functioning in a world when your body is floating in honey or glue ... when the smallest thing, most normal things, getting out of bed, showering ... are so far off your radar they may as well be Mount Kosciusko...
Ive watched storms, from a headland, watched them out at sea, build up, black ... slowly rolling towards land... depression is like that, you can feel it coming and do little ... till your engulfed in black.
Depression is noise sensitive, sensory overload, voices of others too loud... too much input, deafening ... you retreating inside, hide, your own inner voice monotone, one track, negative, black but you hear little else. Confusion, but familiarity...
Food has no taste, no purpose, depression feeds itself ... endless weeping, no energy, not just tired but bone achingly worn... Breathing is meaningless, life is meaningless as you turn on yourself.
Preamble An estimated one percent of Americans use physical self-harm as a way of coping with stress; the rate of self-injury in other industrial nations is probably similar. Still, self-injury remains a taboo subject, a behavior that is considered freakish or outlandish and is highly stigmatized by medical professionals and the lay public alike.
Self-harm, also called self-injury, self-inflicted violence, or self-mutilation, can be defined as self-inflicted physical harm severe enough to cause tissue damage or leave visible marks that do not fade within a few hours. Acts done for purposes of suicide or for ritual, sexual, or ornamentation purposes are not considered self-injury. This document refers to what is commonly known as moderate or superficial self-injury, particularly repetitive SI; these guidelines do not hold for cases of major self-mutilation (i.e., castration, eye enucleation, or amputation).
Because of the stigma and lack of readily available information about self-harm, people who resort to this method of coping often receive treatment from physicians (particularly in emergency rooms) and mental-health professionals that can actually make their lives worse instead of better. Based on hundreds of negative experiences reported by people who self-harm, the following Bill of Rights is an attempt to provide information to medical and mental-health personnel. The goal of this project is to enable them to more clearly understand the emotions that underlie self-injury and to respond to self-injurious behavior in a way that protects the patient as well as the practitioner.
The Bill of Rights for Those who Self-Harm
The right to caring, humane medical treatment.
The right to participate fully in decisions about emergency psychiatric treatment (so long as no one's life is in immediate danger).
The right to body privacy.
The right to have the feelings behind the SI validated.
The right to disclose to whom they choose only what they choose.
The right to choose what coping mechanisms they will use.
The right to have care providers who do not allow their feelings about SI to distort the therapy.
The right to have the role SI has played as a coping mechanism validated.
The right not to be automatically considered a dangerous person simply because of self-inflicted injury.
The right to have self-injury regarded as an attempt to communicate, not manipulate.
Each Friday, I will feature one of the personal stories that readers have left on my last blog so we build a greater understanding of how each we are all very different people but all dealing with the same 'demons'.
If you would like to email yours I'm contactable on abbey.angeltears@gmail.com, just mark it 'Friday's Reader Story' in the subject line. However I wont personally answer emails.
The point of this forum is to share openly with each other our experiences, strategies and hope ... When reading 'Friday's Reader Story' I hope you will look for the similarities in our experiences. No matter how isolated you feel many of us can relate to each others words.
A large part of SH is isolation, secrecy and having no one understand or relate to. Through these readers stories I hope in a small part to elevate that.
Morning Edition, June 10, 2005 · An estimated 2 million Americans practice some form of self-injury, and there is a common misperception that -- like anorexia -- the problem afflicts mostly young women. But self-mutilation isn't exclusively a modern adolescent issue. The disorder is an ancient one, and it is best understood as an attempt to relieve rather than inflict pain.
A reader commented that SH is a societal problem, so I looked around the net and came across this 5min radio exert that has a small part at the start on self harm from a historical context, then goes on to interview a young woman and talks of disassociation experienced with SH. It is 3yrs old but still relevant, I feel.
