I have self harmed, on and off, since I was fourteen. I have self harmed both before and after coming to faith, and I still struggle with, and often fail to resist, the urge to do it when I am depressed. As you may know, I have written my Guide to Self Injury, covering everything […]
G2SI: Recovering
September 15, 2012 by 1 Comment
Let me say this: I feel like a hypocrite writing this. I slipped up, recently, and broke my record of being self injury free. I cannot sit here and write to you that there is an easy way to recover from self harm, that there is a way to banish it forever. I can, though, […]
G2SI: Self Injury and Body Modification
September 15, 2012 by 2 Comments
I have a number of piercings and tattoos, although nothing very wild, and I also self harm. I have heard others ask, fairly frequently, whether the piercings and tattoos are other forms of self injury for me, and whether they are for others. Obviously I can only really speak for myself, but I believe that, […]
G2SI: Cutting and Marking in the Bible
September 14, 2012 by 6 Comments
This post is all about marking as well as cutting in the Bible. Marking the skin, whether through cutting, branding or tattooing, is mentioned around the ancient world and in the Bible. Whether it is acceptable for the people of God, and if so in what way, is what I aim to discuss. I am […]
G2SI: Myths
September 12, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Many myths have a kernel of truth within them, and this is as true of self injury myths as it is of others. I have read, over the years, many webpages talking about these, but I have come to believe there is some truth in them. The most commonly trotted out myths are: Self injury […]
G2SI: Alternatives
September 12, 2012 by 1 Comment
I thought it might be helpful to list some alternatives to self injury, things that might help if you are getting the desire to do it, but are trying not to. Talk to a friend, parent, or helpline. Sometimes talking it through, or talking about something for a time can help you past the worst of […]
G2SI: For Loved Ones
September 11, 2012 by Leave a Comment
When I started self injuring, I didn’t know what to say to anyone. I knew I was feeling absolutely awful, that my mind was churning up with horrible thoughts and feelings, but I didn’t know how to ask for help. It was the self injury that propelled me to a doctor, but it was some […]
G2SI: Self Injury: Christian Views
September 11, 2012 by 4 Comments
Christians, like any group in society, can hold various views on self injury. These can include that it is a sign of mental illness, that it is attention-seeking, and so on, just like non-Christians. There are, however, a few specific ways Christians understand self injury, and a few questions that Christian self injurers may have […]
G2SI: Why Do People Self Injure?
September 10, 2012 by 4 Comments
Reading through the books I own on self injury I can see that there are many reasons given as to why we hurt ourselves. One thing that is consistent is that self injury is thoroughly entangled with our emotions. Many self injurers suppress emotion and perhaps come from backgrounds where emotion is not to be […]
G2SI: Camouflage & Scar Reduction Links
September 9, 2012 by Leave a Comment
I have not been offered any NHS help for my scars, but apparently there are NHS treatments available, although anecdotally they can be hard to persuade your GP to send you off for. Scar Treatment from the NHS website gives some indications of what can be done for scars. These include steroid injections, silicon gel […]
Believer's Brain 