Two years had passed since she first cut herself. By then, she had accumulated more then 200 scars from self-inflicted injuries, had battled mental illness, was in and out of psychiatric hospitals and tried to kill herself. "I saw myself that it was getting worse," she says. "So many times, I realized I was living a life that was not easy. I got to the point that it felt normal even though it was far from normal waking up with blackouts and blood on the walls."
Because cutters hide their scars, it is difficult for caring relatives to see signs of trouble. "I would hide my cuts so people wouldn't see them until there was a scar there," says Duffy. "Yes, I would hide them well. No one would find out until I was in the hospital."
But other signs exist, says Duffy, among them unexplained cuts or scrapes, unusual interest in knives, finding sharp items among a person's belongings or increased irritability, withdrawal or elation.
According to Duffy, a telltale sign is if someone wears long sleeves during hot weather or is always covering up arms and legs.
Matthews urges parents to avoid judgmental thinking and seek professional help immediately.
Treatment at the CGC requires first establishing why a patient uses cutting or other types of self-injury as a coping strategy.
"If a person is overwhelmed by emotion, and cutting works, we help that person find other ways to make the emotion tolerable," explains Matthews. "Does talking about it help? Does writing about it help? Some people find it hard to tolerate negative emotion ... so helping people to sit with the pain and come out the other side and not find an immediate escape is something we work on."
Therapy is then tailored to help patients find adaptive coping strategies that focus on skills related to articulating needs, resolving conflicts and managing anger.Depending on presence, type and degree of associated psychiatric disorders, medication may also include SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors), such as Paxil or Prozac, commonly known as anti-depressants.
"They also help people not feel emotion quite as intensely," explains Matthews. "It doesn't make the emotion go away but the person doesn't quite feel it asintensely so they are able to sit with it while working on it."
Today, Duffy says she is healthy and has remained so for 10 years. She is happily married and has a newborn son. She credits God for her recovery.She also devotes much of her time to helping others who may find themselves in similar circumstances. Through her Web site, http://www.breakingthesilenceofselfinjury.com/, "I provide a safe place for people to go," she says. "To answer the tough questions people have, help them get answers. It's a place for parents to get information, get help and get direction. I try to give people awareness and understanding and show them that they are not freaks."
For immediate help, call the CGC emergency hotline at (888) 825-6777.For information, visit www.childguidancect.org or call 324-6127.
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