The mere thoughts that reside in my mind.
Published on May 12, 2005 By only a shadow In Health & Medicine
People believe something they have done in the past is embarrassing, humiliating, and degrading. It is something we all live with; we all make mistakes.

My confession is something I scarcely talk about… actually, I never really talk about at all. I will mention it to a caring friend… only if they are persistent. Other than those few… no one really knows.

I can act like I am completely fine… but sometimes I am burning up inside. I will rant at people, be very angry and seem frustrated a lot of the time. But, sometimes it’s something else that comes into my head and makes me hate myself even more.

I practice self-mutilation to let out my anger…

This is something that is looked down upon…. by most of society. More than likely because they just don’t understand why people do it.

I have done it before…. Starting a year and four months ago.
I started out by punching my arms, I have bony knuckles and I would leave serious bruising all down my forearms. I wore sweatshirts so no one would know. When the bruising on the arms was absolutely unbearable, I started on my stomach. I beat my stomach to the point I could not eat anything at all. I would come to school telling my friends I was just never hungry.
After that, I found any sharp object I could and slashed my forearms until they would be covered in gashes.

None of this ever hurt me physically.

I stopped for a long time… a very long time. I was clean for about a year. Then, it started again.
Before a big trip a group of us and I went on, I took a razor blade and ripped up my knuckles. This was the first thing related to mutilation I had done in a year. I remember a close friend of mine asked what happened… I cannot remember what I said, but I know that I lied to him.
After that trip, my self-esteem snowballed downhill. I felt like the most worthless piece of shit that walked the earth. Nothing I did was right after that.
The next time was after a solo performance I did on my instrument. I messed up, went home, watched the tape and started crying. I was so angry that I couldn’t do anything right, I grabbed a razor blade and cut my arm. I stopped crying, stopped feeling. It took away the pain, just like it did before. I went to school and told everyone it was a cut from cleaning up the woods.
I would wake up some mornings and grab 4 or 5 pain-killers and take them, and that was all I ate until dinner. I never felt any pain during the day… I was so happy.
Then, the peak of it all was when I started cutting my thighs and stomach. The cuts would bleed through my clothes, so I wore more than one shirt and put gauze on my legs. The scars from the cuts on my stomach are gone, but the others are still there. The ones on the inside of my arms, the ones on my legs, on my hip.

Even thinking about this causes me to be emotional.

I write this not to get attention, nor receive pity or help. I am saying this to prove, even the most least expected people can do this without you knowing. Watch a struggling friend, you might be the only one that can help. They want your help, not necissarily for you them to solve everything, but to be there for them.

I don’t want anyone’s help… and never ask me about this at anytime. Taking away my outlet is like taking away a dieing person’s life support. I am slowly starting to quit… but this takes time, I am a very angry person. It took me to talk to one person about this and let everything out to even think of quitting.

You now have a reason to call me psycho… I hope you’re happy.

~Shadow

Never bring this up to me.... please.

Comments (Page 2)
2 Pages1 2 
on May 17, 2005
Small gestures of friendship can mean everything....


One day, when I was a freshman in high school,
I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school.
His name was Tim.
It looked like he was carrying all of his
books.
I thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a
Friday? He must really be a nerd."
I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.
As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him.
They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt.
His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him.
He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes
My heart went out to him. So, I jogged over to him and as he crawled around looking for his glasses, I saw a tear in his eye.
As I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks.
They really should get lives.
" He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!"
There was a big smile on his face.
It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.
I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived.
As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before.
He said he had gone to private school before now.
I would have never hung out with a private school kid before.
We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books.
He turned out to be a pretty cool kid.
I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends
He said yes.
We hung out all weekend and the more I got to know Tim, the more I liked him, and my friends thought the same of him.
Monday morning came, and there was Tim with the huge stack of books again.
I stopped him and said, "Boy, you are gonna really build some serious
muscles with this pile of books everyday!
" He just laughed and handed me half the books.
Over the next four years, Tim and I became best friends.
When we were seniors, we began to think
about college.
Tim decided on Georgetown, and I
was going to Duke.
I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a
problem.
He was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football
scholarship.
Tim was valedictorian of our class.
I teased him all the time about being a nerd.
He had to prepare a speech for graduation.
I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak
Graduation day, I saw Tim.
He looked great.
He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school.
He filled out and actually looked good in glasses.
He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him.
Boy, sometimes I was jealous.
Today was one of those days.
I could see that he was nervous about his speech.
So, I smacked him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be great!"
He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and
smiled.
"Thanks," he said.
As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began
"Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years.
Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends...
I am here to tell all of you that being a
friend to someone is the best gift you can give them.
I am going to tell you a story."
I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met.
He had planned to kill himself over the weekend.
He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home.
He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.
"Thankfully, I was saved.
My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."
I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment.
I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile.
Not until that moment did I realize it's depth.
Never underestimate the power of your actions.
With one small gesture you can change a person's life.
For better or for worse.
God puts us all in each other's lives to impact one another in some way.
Look for God in others.
"Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble
remembering how to fly."

There is no beginning or end.. Yesterday is history.
Tomorrow is mystery.
Today is a gift.

Life is short, make the most of it.




on May 22, 2005
I read that story in an email a few years ago...

~Zoo
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