This is going to be a very serious journal entry.
It's about cutting.
Or self injury in general.
I'll be discussing the signs, what you do if you, yourself, self injure and how to get help.
I'm not some expert, but I do know what it feels like. I know what it's like to loath yourself so much, or feel as though all hope is gone.

Signs of Self Injury;
Being insecure.
Wearing longer sleeves/pants in summer, or if it's out of character.
Trying to hide a certain part of their body, be it crossing arms, suddenly wearing watches/bracelets.
Or simply, just having a new bandage or new scars.
Make sure to ask what happened.

Now, what to do;
If you suspect your friend or loved one is a self injurer, ask them. Ask how they've been, if everything's alright, and make sure you look at their face. If they avoid eye contact, chances are they're avoiding the true answer, as well.
Even if they're not ready to talk, just be there for them. Most self injurers feel they have no one to trust, or talk to. Give them a hug, or just a friendly smile. The littlest of things can help.

If you do it yourself;
If you self injure yourself, this is what you can do to both prevent it and help yourself through it.

If you're feeling upset, or depressed or just not happy, don't immediately go to your secret hiding spot with your 'Happy Tools'
Try meditating, or just reading, even watching tv or even sleep. Anything to calm yourself down, and get your mind off what's bugging you. If those don't work, try a nice soothing bath. Get some nice smelling bubble bath, and just relax. Don't think about the problem, but the solution. Think of what you can do to fix it.
Be positive!
Try whatever relaxes you most. Self injury shouldn't be your last resort, though. Even if you just can NOT calm down, stay away from anything that can cause you harm.
Even mentally, if you're mentally self injuring yourself, which physical can effect, too, it's not any better. Purposefully putting yourself into a situation where there's fighting, or yelling, or anything like that, take yourself out. It'll only hurt you more.

What You Can Do;
If you feel you're beyond helping yourself, please, tell someone. It's hard at first, but does get easier. If they get mad, you chose the right person, because it means they care about you and will help you get better.
Tell your parents, yeah, it's going to be extremely hard. But their wrath will be so much easier to take for you, then them having to take your death. It's very easy to go too far with self injury. Cut too deep, burned too bad, infection. It's far too easy.
The first step is admitting it.

The first time I did it, I didn't believe myself. I was in complete denial. I just thought, "No. An out of body experience. I didn't do that to myself"
Truth is, I did. And we all do. Be it, with harming skin, or people around us. We're all a little masochistic once in a while.

I'm gonna tell the story of how I got so, SO, bad.

I was once extremely depressed. Like, no more good days were coming. A big old gray cloud was over my head, and I have no umbrella.
My friend cut, or used to back then, and she told me about it, trusting me with her secret.
I took it the wrong way.
I think one day, I just decided to try it. Thought, "What the hell?"
Bad thought.
I don't remember my first time, but it changed my life for ever.
I got fairly bad back then, but I didn't admit to myself or to anyone what I did or was doing.
I met my first true love, and I was completely happy. I stopped cutting for over 7 months. Never even crossed my mind. But we had a bad break up. And they just shattered me.
I didn't go back to it immediately, but I was sitting here one day and saw something sharp. Thought, "Oh, I wonder what it'll do" It did what my old tool did, but better.
That was a big mistake. I got even worse than the first time.
I did it every day. If I stubbed my foot, I did it. I didn't have good ration or judgment when to do it. I just did it. It felt good. I liked it.
I was doing it pretty much every day. I started with a blank left arm, and it is now covered in tiny little slashes. About 14, I believe. If not even more. But, I finally admitted to myself, and my sister, I needed help. I needed to stop.
And, I did.
I just stopped. Told myself, not to do it. And it's been probably over three months now. And I feel amazing.
I found the tool I used to use today.
But, even though I had a relapse and wanted to cut so badly, I didn't.
I broke it into 3 pieces, symbolizing. The Past, Present and my newly made Future.
I threw it into the garbage, saying, "You can not control me"
And the feeling I had after that, was...proudness. I was so proud of myself for kicking this bad habit.

These are my scars [link]

And all you self injurers can fix it, too.
Just believe in yourself, and the people around you. Believe they're really your friends, and trust them.

Thanks for reading this.
Next Topic: Suicide.