Hello! welcome!Hi everyone,
I dont really know where to begin here. I'm 24 years old and just under two years into my diagnosis with type one diabetes. Over the past couple of months, I've been seriously struggling and have started self harming by putting needles on to my insulin pen and scratching my arms, stomach and legs. I really hate what im doing but im struggling to stop. I suppose what im looking for by posting this is to ask has anyone ever experienced anything like this? Did you manage to stop and how did you get there?
Hi everyone,
I dont really know where to begin here. I'm 24 years old and just under two years into my diagnosis with type one diabetes. Over the past couple of months, I've been seriously struggling and have started self harming by putting needles on to my insulin pen and scratching my arms, stomach and legs. I really hate what im doing but im struggling to stop. I suppose what im looking for by posting this is to ask has anyone ever experienced anything like this? Did you manage to stop and how did you get there?
Hi everyone, I dont really know where to begin here. I'm 24 years old and just under two years into my diagnosis with type one diabetes. Over the past couple of months, I've been seriously struggling and have started self harming by putting needles on to my insulin pen and scratching my arms, stomach and legs. I really hate what im doing but im struggling to stop. I suppose what im looking for by posting this is to ask has anyone ever experienced anything like this? Did you manage to stop and how did you get there?
Never used needles here but I did use razor blades and it wasn't pretty at all during my 20's. What happened was that I opened up about it to someone and started addressing the triggers that started to cause it. I also started keeping a diary of positivity near wherever I knew I would run off to for my sessions there and read that instead. What I wrote was all the good things that happened in the day, any small little bit of happiness that I got during the day. Most importantly though I did get myself into a councilling session too and just let myself be at peace with the situation.Hi everyone,
I dont really know where to begin here. I'm 24 years old and just under two years into my diagnosis with type one diabetes. Over the past couple of months, I've been seriously struggling and have started self harming by putting needles on to my insulin pen and scratching my arms, stomach and legs. I really hate what im doing but im struggling to stop. I suppose what im looking for by posting this is to ask has anyone ever experienced anything like this? Did you manage to stop and how did you get there?
not personally but I have friends who, as Buffy would say, have both been there and done that. I suspect self harm is a lot more common than we are generally aware of and there will be specialist counsellors (word of warning on counsellors they are not all created equal and some of them are plain wrong, trust your instincts on this one #justmypersonalviewpoint)anyone ever experienced anything like this?
Hi everyone,
I dont really know where to begin here. I'm 24 years old and just under two years into my diagnosis with type one diabetes. Over the past couple of months, I've been seriously struggling and have started self harming by putting needles on to my insulin pen and scratching my arms, stomach and legs. I really hate what im doing but im struggling to stop. I suppose what im looking for by posting this is to ask has anyone ever experienced anything like this? Did you manage to stop and how did you get there?
Hello! welcome!
You did start off by reaching out to us and I'm sending you hugs your way. It takes a lot of strength to reach out for help.
Could I ask how is your diabetes? Has your team suggested anything to help you? I know my diabetes team can refer me or another type 1 to see a clinical psychologist for our struggles. I use to self harm when I was much younger, I was diagnosed at a much younger age. However counsellors at school back then couldn't help me much because they didn't understand diabetes as much they do now. I did stop when my BG levels were much better and things started to improve.
Hey, I just made my account to reply back to your message. I'm the same age as you. But I've was diagnosed a few more years ago. I was diagnosed at the worst possible time in my life, when I was set to start a career with the Coast Guard and become a marine science technician. I feel near constant rage and sadness over what happened to me, even though it's been years. . I've thought about harming myself but haven't really gone through with it (aside maybe from punching things really hard, I do fitness kickboxing and work on a bag a lot). What stopped me is my ambition to one day work with Fish and Wildlife, and knowing that if they or other law enforcement agencies saw that I cut myself or something similar that they would view me as unstable.
But I guess my advice is, find what you enjoy, find a your passion or interest and try to use it to help you take your mind off the illness. One of my big loves is blues music. I play harmonica and am learning guitar. I listen to dozens of the great artists like Eric Clapton, BB King, Robert Johnson, all the greats. And I remind myself that most of them had harder lives than me. Eric Clapton for instance, lost a son. Blues is designed to cultivate joy from deep depression you feel, so my condition I feel has helped me understand and connect it. I also love nature and all types of animals. Being around them just fills me with happiness. If you're religious, try prayer, try connecting to other religious people. (If you're not, at least look into it, it would make me very happy to know I'm encouraging that, at least). But even if you're not religious, meditation is a long standing way to relieve stress. I've recently been reading a book by Chuck Norris about how powerful a personal tool it can be.
But more importantly, talk to your loved ones. Please don't keep the bad emotions inside until they boil over. They are set to be released in harmful ways in that situation. If you're angry or sad, find a way to vent it out. It's okay to be angry, if I need to run around in the woods screaming like I'm the Wolverine then that's what I usually do (there's probably better ways I know). Many of them may not know what to say, but their love is what you need to connect with, even if their words or advice might miss the mark.
I know I'm probably not explaining this too well, I'm still figuring myself out with my disease. But what I can tell you for sure is that no two people are alike and everyone thinks, feels, and deals differently. The best thing you can do is think and feel outside of the box.
You have taken the 1st step which is the hardest thing of all. That took some courage: good on you.
Most people who cut or self harm are dealing with some kind of trauma and may feel a release of pressure when they cut or are so numb that it is the only thing they cn do to "feel". Being diagnosed with a life altering condition at such a young age counts as traumatic no matter what people will say to try and make you feel better (and don't they say some stupid stuff "could have been cancer" "100 years ago you would be dead" ...doesn'tthat kind of stuff just make you want to shriek??)
Anyways, you will get lots of help from this very supportive community and you need also to find help with this in real life. I have enclosed a link to an article (below) that covers some of the basics around self harm but also as a suggested tool to use in finding real life help.(assuming that you are in the UK) Sometimes printing out an article and taking it to a trusted friend or relative family doctor etc. and handing it over and saying something like. "this is happening for me and I need some help figuring it out" is easier than figuring out your own words.
I wish you all the best and could you please keep us posted on your progress?
How often do you have hypos? Those can do really nasty things to your mental balance as they build up over time. In my case they trigger a comorbid condition where one hypo can literally take weeks to recover from. It's so serious that my BG target is about 7-8.
Hi, I don't know if it is diabetes related, I haven't been though this myself, but I know someone who has but non diabetic. It's finding coping mechanism's and the right one's too that will be beneficial to you, but I wouldn't recommend taking up smoking.
Have you seen your GP about the self harm as they could refer you to the appropriate organisations. I really hope you find something that will help you long term, to overcome this awful condition that you are going through.
I have been told that self harm causes changes to the brain and they are not negative ones, it's a form of self satisfaction and self control for the individual. Take care x
Here are a couple of links you might find helpful.
https://www.theguardian.com/society...ve-young-women-have-self-harmed-study-reveals
https://www.itv.com/thismorning/self-harm-helplines
Thank you so much for the links, i will be sure to check these out. I've seen my GP about my general symptoms of depression and anxiety but haven't seen them since I started harming. I am going to do this hopefully over the next week
Thank you, my blood sugar control is generally pretty good. My diabetes team say that my biggest hurdle is to stop being so hard on myself when my blood sugar is out of range. I have been referred to psychological therapy which im going through at the moment, but if i'm honest i'm not finding it that helpful yet,
CBT was on and off for me, they addressed my motivation and anxiety issues but never diabetes. It is a difficult balancing act - diabetes has to be good in order for my mental help to function. I've recently been referred to see a clinical psychologist at a hospital, apparently they are tailored towards people with long term health conditions. I'll let you know in near future how it goes. I'd like to also say diabetes is unpredictable, we are trying our best to manage it but striving for absolute perfect control could be very difficult. Sometimes we are high or low for no reason so no need to beat your up.Thank you, my blood sugar control is generally pretty good. My diabetes team say that my biggest hurdle is to stop being so hard on myself when my blood sugar is out of range. I have been referred to psychological therapy which im going through at the moment, but if i'm honest i'm not finding it that helpful yet,
i tend to have about 3/4 a week, i'm quite cautious of them and tend to catch them before they get too low. I've only had one really frightening experience which was just about a week ago
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