A friend of mine was doing it. Had been for a long time. She even carved "Hate" into her leg.
It was a defense mechanism where she would trade emotional pain for physically pain, for a kind of "release"
Took 6 months for me to get her to stop. This included anything from just talking to her over the phone to getting up at 3 in the morning when she would trigger and want to cut and I would go pick her up and drive her around for an hour until she calmed down.
It was tough. She refused councelling, so all I could do was be there and be supportive. Best advice I can give is be there when she needs you, whether she asks for help or not.
|