shift

Good or bad first…? We’ll work up to the happy part.

Self-mutilation includes practices like cutting, suicide, and drug abuse, which should not be used as ways to escape from the reality. Cutting? Goodness… how does it make a person feel better? It just reminds me of the times when doctors cut their patients to release “bad” blood as a way to cure illnesses. I was pretty disturbed when I first heard about such methods of “healing”. Most of the people who went through this treatment died, I believe. When a person cuts him or herself, he or she just stresses out the body even more than it already is. I’m not sure though. I have never cut myself intentionally before. But I am guessing that people just feel more “relaxed” after they cut themselves because they lose energy as they lose blood. Not cool.

Many people are driven to considering or committing suicide when they face emotional issues and life changing problems that they think they can not get through or escape. This creates the thought that there is no point living anymore. Such cases include breaking up with a boyfriend or a girlfriend, or if someone is continually being teased at school. It is most often fueled by thoughts of being useless and inferior. However, committing suicide does not leave the chance of possible change in the future. Teens who commit suicide basically waste up to ¾ of their life. In that time, they could have made many personal changes. Many people who were stopped from committing suicide ended up getting over the issue they were stressing about. Most of those who got over the stress were thankful that they had not ended their lives early because they learned that there is always an alternate way out of a situation. It may not be the easiest way out, but they can always get over it. It just takes time and effort.

Alcohol abuse is practiced by teens the most these days. Almost all college kids drink before the legal age of 21. Thank goodness my brother had not started yet. I mean, he has tried a few sips of red wine before, but he’s not a big drinker. Man! He has a really low tolerance level. Alright, I admit it. I’ve tried a little bit of alcohol before as well. But this was a long time ago. It was elementary school, middle school at most. My dad let me try some beer. That stuff tastes bad! It’s bitter! I really wonder how people can actually like this stuff. In my opinion, beer is gross. My mother encourages me to try red wine sometimes. She claims it’s good for the body. But just from tasting the beer from long before, I refuse every time. Nasty! There are several reasons to why teens abuse alcohol. First, the legal age is set at 21 and there is this American way of thinking: When someone says no to something, we just want to go do that something. So when alcohol is prohibited to teens, they have more of a drive to be their natural rebel and drink. I also think the legal alcohol consumption age is a bit too high. People in other countries drink small amounts of alcohol daily. This includes adults, teens, AND children. Children learn not to abuse alcohol through this practice. I believe this method is effective because it leaves children less curious and less deprived.

People are free to try what they want and I have no say in that. But the very least a person can do is… take care of him/herself.

::::

This is my personal reflection on the challenging topic of Self-Preservation vs. Self-Mutiliation. Our entire group has contributed to this SHIFT (our written symposium on challenging topics), and we would love it if you read through each of our reflections, and added your comments, experiences and perspectives to the discussion. We also encourage you to reference our list of Resources, should you or someone you know need help.