The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission | Youth ministers encourage professional help for cutters | Comments http://erlc.com/ This feed provides all comments on "Youth ministers encourage professional help for cutters." en web-master@erlc.com ℗ & © 2008 ERLC Comment 1 http://erlc.com/article/youth-ministers-encourage-professional-help-from-cutters#comment1 http://erlc.com/article/youth-ministers-encourage-professional-help-from-cutters#comment1 While even many professionals have misinterpreted cutting as a means to gain attention, this is a sorely misguided understanding of the problem.  If it were intended to gain attention, cutters would not go to such lengths to hide their scars.  Self injury is an outward expression of an inward pain.  Psychological and spiritual healing can only begin when we dismiss the act of cutting as a desire for attention and begin to see it as a visible indication of inner pain that existed long before the cutting started.  It is critical within both the Christian and the non-christian communities that we respond to self-injurers with compassion rather than reinforcing the shame that surrounds this highly misunderstood behavior.  By suggesting to the injurer that he or she is “attention-seeking”, their shame is reinforced with the understood message, “You’re not really in terrible inner pain, you’re only trying to appear to others as if you’re in pain.”

]]> Wed, 06 Feb 2008 17:14:14 CST Fri, 09 May 2008 10:14:42 CST Comment 2 http://erlc.com/article/youth-ministers-encourage-professional-help-from-cutters#comment2 http://erlc.com/article/youth-ministers-encourage-professional-help-from-cutters#comment2 I completely agree with everything that JS wrote above.  Self-harm is the outward expression of pain and hurt deep within.  This distructive behavior begins when you feel controlled by the pain in your life and begin to self-harm in order to alleviate the pain of your circumstances.  This is a distorted view of reality and must be addressed by confronting the underlying hurt and pain within.  Mercy Ministries has a series of books that help youth ministers, parents, and teens seeking freedom from self-harm and other life controlling problems such as eating disorders, addictions, and sexual abuse.  Cut, Mercy for Self-Harm educates you on what “self-harm” is, gives you signs to watch for, addresses how to break free, and gives you stories of girls who have overcome self-harm.  Here is a link to their webpage.

https://www.mercyministries.org/Store/c-3-featured-items.aspx

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