I’m not going to link to what I posted last night.
I’m not going to tell you why I did it, or why I posted it,
I’m not going to remove what I posted last night and,
I’m not going to appologise for what I posted last night.

That’s reality.

Self-harm happens when someone hurts or harms themselves (hence the name). They may:

• take too many tablets;
• cut themselves;
• burn their body;
• bang their head;
• throw their body against something hard;
• punch themselves;
• stick things in their body;
• swallow inappropriate objects

It can feel to other people that these things are done coolly and deliberately – almost cynically. But someone who self-harms will usually do it in a state of high emotion, distress and unbearable inner turmoil. Some people plan it in advance, others do it suddenly. Some people self-harm only once or twice, but others do it regularly - it can become almost like an addiction.

I have spent three years recovering, however, because of a chain of events over the past few days, I have fallen back into the cycle.

• About 1 in 10 young people will self-harm at some point, but it can occur at any age.
• It is more common in young women than men.
• 2 of 3 people go untreated.

Help is out there. Rescue is possible.
You matter, very much.

~~

You were created to love and be loved.  You were meant to live life in relationship with other people, to know and be known. You need to know that your story is important and that you’re part of a bigger story.  You need to know that your life matters.

We live in a difficult world, a broken world. We believe that everyone can relate to pain, that all of us live with questions, and all of us get stuck in moments.  You need to know that you’re not alone in the places you feel stuck. 

We all wake to the human condition.  We wake to mystery and beauty but also to tragedy and loss.  Millions of people live with problems of pain.  Millions of homes are filled with questions – moments and seasons and cycles that come as thieves and aim to stay.  We know that pain is very real.  It is our privilege to suggest that hope is real, and that help is real. 

You need to know that rescue is possible, that freedom is possible, that God is still in the business of redemption.  We’re seeing it happen.  We’re seeing lives change as people get the help they need.  People sitting across from a counselor for the first time.  People stepping into treatment.  In desperate moments, people calling a suicide hotline.  We know that the first step to recovery is the hardest to take.  We want to say here that it’s worth it, that your life is worth fighting for, that it’s possible to change.

- http://www.twloha.com/vision/ (To Write Love on Her Arms - Their Vision)

~~

Don’t sit in silence.
Rescue is possible.
Seek help. Now.
Lisa. x