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Self Harm
Self mutilation is a topic that is avoided by everybody; i.e. parents, teachers, students. It is a scary topic, but when is anything serious not scary? It is becoming such a huge issue yet a lot of people turn a blind eye to it, or just do the easiest thing they can think of, which is usually push the issue off of their shoulders so another person can handle it since most people can't handle that kind of pressure.
What can you do when someone is hurting themselves? That's an answer that I don't think anybody will ever actually be able to answer, because its not really something that is easy to understand. In fact, the only way to really understand it is when you have already done it. I'm not saying that everybody should go experiment, I'm just saying that instead of ignoring the problem, think about it.
How can we really think about something that we apparently can't understand? Easy. Here's a scenario for you, their is a girl that notices scratches on her friends arm, when she starts talking to her friend about it the friend says, "I do it because it gives me a release and makes me feel better." Most the time, people in a situation like this just assume that the friend wants attention instead of thinking about it scientifically.
When a person is seriously stressed or depressed, things are just hard to get sorted out, so when said person cuts, their body releases endorphins which are the bodies natural chemicals that relieve pain and stress, so if you know somebody that cuts, don't just brush it off and say its an attempt at getting attention. Just listen to what they say.
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This article has 13 comments.
I also enjoyed reading this, it was very interesting. However, like the others pointed out there are some run-ons. Also maybe make it a bit longer and put more of the science behind it or cite the part about the endorphins-just a thought.
Great start though!
Yeah I understand it needs work. I am actually disappointed because I really rushed this one.
I have one other piece that has finally been approved though. It is "The Life of a Teenage Masochist" Its pretty crazy.
correct me if i'm wrong, but i always thought pain released a tiny shot of adrenaline. Adrenaline is a natural stress reliever and addictive, thus why it is so hard to quit. Arent endorphins for happiness? If pain brought happiness the whole world would be masochistic, yes?
or maybe i have it wrong...
Pheonix is very right, I agree with what he says.
I really enjoyed this though and the insight you give. You have quite a talent with writing and you should continue. It's very true how people just brush off things and ignore what you say and make up their own assumptions. So very very true and prevelant in my life. Good point.
This article is a good start, but it has some structural flaws that detract from your message. First off, you use really long sentences. That's not bad--I personally use a lot of long sentences as well--but check to make sure that they aren't run-ons. For example, this sentence
"It is becoming such a huge issue yet a lot of people turn a blind eye to it, or just do the easiest thing they can think of, which is usually (to) push the issue off of their shoulders so another person can handle it since most people can't handle that kind of pressure."
is a run-on. See how it is practically a paragraph in itself? Try breaking it up into at least two sentences. Maybe
"It is becoming a huge issue, yet many people turn a blind eye to it. Those who do acknowledge the problem often leave it for another person to deal with because they feel inadequate to address the situation."
I rewrote your sentence and replaced some lengthy or "filler" type phrases with more formal, concise, or stronger phrases as the case may be.
Aside from structural flaws, you have a good piece. This could become an excellent article to refer to people whose friends are involved in self-injury.
