We think it is great that you want to help your friend out. Whenever someone starts to cut themselves they are most likely dealing with a lot of emotional pain; the cutting is their way of showing how they feel and trying to cope with it. This can be really tough for them to go through alone, so it is great that you want to do things to help her. You sound like a really great friend for her to have!

Do any adults know how she is feeling? By putting these things on Facebook there is a good chance that a lot of people have seen them. You should encourage her to let her parents, the school counselor, or somebody else know how she is feeling.

You don’t want to try and force her to do this, but encourage her. Having as much support available to her as possible can really make a huge difference. She might not feel comfortable telling people how she feels, so maybe you could encourage her to e-mail us.

Check out this link, it might help you out. You could also show it to her: http://www.yourlifeyourvoice.org/DiscoverIt/Articles/Pages/SelfInjury.aspx.

Remember, you are not responsible for her cutting and you can’t personally make her stop. What you can do is continue to the best, most supportive friend you can be.

Listen to what she has to say and try to provide her with some good advice. Remind her that there are a lot of healthier ways to cope with how she is feeling. This link has a couple of really good ways that people can help people deal with their feelings: http://www.yourlifeyourvoice.org/DiscoverIt/Articles/Pages/HowtoManageStress.aspx.

Hopefully this gives you some steps to think about as you try and help your friend. We know this might be tough for you, so hang in there! It sounds like you are a great friend. Let us know how things are going or if you need anymore help.

Take care,
Abe, Counselor