Get to Know Nathan Daniels discussion

TRIGGER WARNING for descriptions of self harm.


"In spite of the myth—that people who self-harm are looking for attention—the truth is, most people who engage in self-abuse go to great lengths to keep this behavior secret. This needs to change, and I want to examine my own history with self-mutilation and attempt to explain why I cut myself.

This misunderstood coping skill is a common symptom of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Borderline Personality Disorder, and it’s associated with many other anxiety and personality disorders as well. There is also a connection between self-injury and suffering great loss, like the death of a close relative, and survivors of abuse, especially when the abuse occurs during childhood.

Personally, I live with several debilitating psychological disorders, including Borderline Personality Disorder and Chronic PTSD. I also suffered extensive and ongoing child abuse…molested by my older sister, verbally abused by my father, and later exposed to years of social isolation.

In my late teen years, an unfortunate series of deaths wiped out half my family in the span of three months. This suffrage of loss and grief caused an implosion of immeasurable agony that consumed my own will to live. Clearly, I can associate with almost every possible cause associated with self-abusive tendencies.

This need has been part of my life for thirty years, but it wasn’t until I almost died, just over two years ago, that I took a good look at my lifelong relationship with razor blades, sewing needles, and boiling water. Obviously, I couldn’t figure these things out when I was seven or eight-years old but, in retrospect, that’s when it all started"....

From my article for, "The Good Men Project."
CLICK TO READ - http://goodmenproject.com/featured-co...