環(huán)球英語 — 318：Self Harming
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Thank you for joining us for today’s Spotlight program. I’m Ryan Geertsma.
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And I’m Ruby Jones. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
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How do you deal with life? Do you feel stress or pressure from work or family? How do you react? What do you do to manage strong emotions?
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Courtney Schutt, one of our Spotlight producers, runs to manage her stress.
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“When I feel like I am under a lot of pressure in my life, I go running. Running is exercise. So it is healthy for my body. But it also helps me calm my emotions. Some times strong emotions can create lots of energy. Running lets me use that energy. When I finish, I can think clearly again.”
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Each person finds his or her own way to deal with emotions and stress. These are things we do to cope, to meet our needs each day. Doctors encourage people to find healthy ways to cope. They suggest doing things like exercise and talking with friends.
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But some people react to stress and strong emotion in ways that are harmful. They hurt their bodies. They cause harm by cutting or burning their skin. Some people pull out their hair. These kinds of behaviour are called Self-Harm or Self-Injury.
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Tracy Ewert writes for an internet magazine called Girl Speak. In one story she describes a person who cuts her body to cope with her feelings. Liz Waid reads the beginning of this story, called Self-Injury.
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“I move the shaking finger over the edge of the knife. I make sure it is sharp. I have to do it. I will not be able to think of anything else. Just one quick cut. I press the knife against the skin near my waist. I finally feel like me. I am letting go. A wave of heat, relief, release, comes as the first drops of blood develop.
It is my blood, my skin, my waist, and my cut. I am real. My large shirt falls. It hides the wound. And I go to sleep.”
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It is difficult to understand self-harming behaviour. Why do people purposely hurt their own bodies? How can causing physical pain release emotional pain and stress? But it is important to understand why a person self-harms. This is the first step to helping someone stop.
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Self-harm is not suicide. Usually, the person does not want to die. Some people harm their bodies to get other people to notice them. They want or need attention. But many say that they do not want people to know. The physical harm to their body helps them cope with strong emotions. And it helps them deal with stress.
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Tor is 24. She had a good family. She went to good schools. But Tor began cutting her body when she was fifteen [15] years old. She was feeling a lot of pressure to do well in school. The pressure became too much for her. She says cutting gave her a feeling of release.
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“It is like when you hold your breath. You just feel like you are going to blow up. Self-harm is like when you breathe again.”
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But Tor did more than cutting. She would hit walls until her fingers bled. She would use cigarettes to burn her skin. But she was always careful to hide the marks. She only injured her body in places other people would not see.
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“Self-harm is not popular. It is not seeking attention ... it is very secret. Self-harm is a very secret thing.”
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Tor began to harm her body every day. She stopped going to school when she was 20 years old. And she did not have a place to live. So she lived on the streets. Her self-harm became very bad. One year, she was in the hospital more than 30 times.
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Often people who self-harm feel very alone. They do not feel that they can talk to another person. They do not think another person will understand their strong emotions. They may not know a better way to deal with strong emotions. Self-harm gives them a feeling of control over life and their emotions.
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Self-harm is an addiction. A person who self-harms begins to depend on the feeling the behaviour provides. But an addiction to self-harming is like an addiction to drugs. The more a person does it, the more they need to do it to get the same feeling. This can be very dangerous. A person could cause more harm than they planned to. This threatens their health. It could even lead to accidental death.
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Self-harm is not restricted to one age group. It is not limited to people from one part of the world. And it is not limited to rich people or poor people. Even Princess Diana admitted to hurting her body to deal with the stress in her life. Two years before her death she was interviewed on Panorama, a news program. The Princess of Wales told the world about her self-harm.
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“I did cause harm to my body. I did not like me. I felt shame because I could not cope. I could not deal with the pressures of being a wife, a mother, and the Princess of Wales.”
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More women than men harm their bodies. And it is more common for younger adults. But it is not possible to know exact numbers. This is because many people do not get help from doctors or trained mental health workers.
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It can be difficult for family and friends to learn that a person self-harms. But it is important to be patient. Getting angry can make a person who self-harms feel worse. And then they do the only thing that will make them feel better. They continue to self-harm. It is better to try to understand why a person self-harms. Where is the stress and pressure coming from? It may take time to learn and understand. But it will be possible to help the person find new ways to deal with their feelings.
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It is also important to show love to a person who suffers from self-harm. Listen to them. Encourage them. The Christian Bible says that God created each person to be an image of him. Each person’s body, mind, and heart is an image of God’s. Each person should be treated that way. Each person should be loved that way. A person who self-harms is still an image of God. They just need help believing it.
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Listen for an upcoming program on treatment ideas. This program will give you more valuable information about self-harming, and how to help people who self-harm.
