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Self harming

Discussion forum for parents in Australia

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Jettz

Self harming

My daughter has a history of self harming. This is traumatic for both my other daughters. We have been told by mental health services and her doctors that it is ok for her to self harm. I am having trouble accepting this given how this is impacting our family in such a negative way. She self harms in response to any punishments for her unacceptable behavior. We have tried to explore other coping mechanism with her and my daughter refuses all ideas and treatment plans. She claims it impacts no one but her. We no longer want her living with us and our powerless to do anything about this.

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Courtney-RO

Re: Self harming

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Hi @Jettz and welcome to our online community!

 

I'm sorry to hear that your daughter has been self-harming and that this has been so traumatic to your family. I can only imagine how scary and confusing this must feel right now. Self-harm can be difficult as it is a way of coping with painful or strong emotions. You mentioned that she self-harms in response to any punishments, have you been able to speak to her about this and find out more about why she does this?

If you are interested in having a read at all. The Raising Children's Network has a great article on Self-harm that might be worth having a look at it. The article also gives you an idea of what you can do when someone self-harms.

As this is such a hard and stressful time, I am wondering how you are taking care of yourself. Is there someone that you feel comfortable talking to about this? If you would like to talk to someone, Parentline is a great resource and may be able to point you in the right direction of what to do next.

I also just wanted to let you know that I had to edit your post a little to keep within the community guidelines.

Please remember that you're not alone and we're always here for you.