An encouraging story.

[HomeChicklet]

Hello

My name is Mandy and I have a story that might encourage some of you to fight harder. Last summer I began cutting. It was told to me by a friend and one night I was so depressed it seemed like a great idea. I became addicted and slowly I noticed that what I was doing was wrong. Not only wrong but against what God has commanded. I asked for prayer from a friend and she ended up doing it. That gave me all the more reason to keep at it. I told a guy at church and all he did was yell at me for even doing it and then yelled at me for bringing it up in front of my friend that had started doing. I went to it harder and stronger. I got worse. Our church finally hired a youth pastor and he got here and helped me tramendously. He picked up on it the Sunday he came to visit our church for us to vote on him to see if he would be youth pastor. He told me that when he got to our church we were going to do something about the cutting and he wasn't even sure he would be our youth pastor. Thats when God really got my attention on it. That guy did end up being our youth pastor and thats how we got to know each other so well. He told me that he would hold confidentiality with me if I promised not to do it again. I made it FOUR months and didn't do it. Then one day something upset me greatly and I did it again. I told him and he made me tell my parents. That was the hardest yet the most benefical thing I could have ever done. I haven't done it again in SEVEN MONTHS!!!! You can make it through this. When the temptations get strong remember this

1 Corinthians 10:13- No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

You too can get through this if you trust the Lord God with all of your heart and lean on Him to help you and guide you through those though times. Am I saying that you will not ever think about it again even if you commit to not doing it again? NO It will be a constant thought to you. There are such things called automatic thoughts. When you have done something for so long that when you decide you aren't going to do it anymore your brain still sees it as a possibilty to fulfill. DONT LISTEN TO THAT THOUGHT. You can make it through this fight.

I would like each of you to make this commitment. The Nazirite Vow

I _(name)_ on this _(date)_ of _(month)_, _(year)_ commit to stop my self injury behavior. Should I ever feel the need to SI, I promise to talk to a friend or email Dennis (Bluphi115) or Megan (Foyelkan) before I follow through with this behavior. I understand that SI is a choice every single time, and that I have the power to say no.

Here are three reasons I should quit SI:
1)
2)
3)

Here are three steps I will take to help myself quit:
1)
2)
3)

Signed,
_(Name)_

_(Date)_

Copy and paste it and fill it in with your name and the date that you take it and your information to answer the reasons and things like that. I will be here for any of you to email me.

[edited email address -- email member through profile if necessary]

Please do not ever hesistate to do email me. I am always here for any of you. Just make sure in the subject box that you include you are from CF.

Thanks
I love you in Christ
Mandy

 

[HomeChicklet]

come on now i think any of you could do it.... take the vow

 

[HomeChicklet]

I hope each and every one of you are doing well.... it gets better I promise

 

[katylees]

hey hun, i remember talking to you ages ago, im so proud of you, you are very strong.

 

[Renwolf]

I think it's really awesome that you've been able to give up your self injury. That's such a huge accomplishment and I really admire you for that.

It's incredibly hard to give up a bad coping mechanism before finding good coping mechanisms to take it's place and the longer a person depends on a bad coping mechanism like SI, the harder it is to find good ones. A lot of times, giving up a bad coping mechanism too soon just leaves a window open for another bad coping mechanism. It's kind of like giving up smoking and then taking up drinking excessively. Or giving up alcohol, but turing to drugs instead. It can be a very slippery slope.

For everyone here still struggling with SI, myself included, I wish for them to be able to find good coping mechanisms to take the place of the self injury so that a permanent recovery is possible.

 

[HomeChicklet]

Hey there

first off I agree with you.... I don't want to seem like I am lieking to you.... there is not a day that has gone by in the last two weeks that I have not wanted to cut.... And it is going to be like that for a long time I bet before for the last 8 months it has been that way. I did end up with another bad coping mechanism and if you go to struggles with sexuality you can read about it..... its a hard battle and I wonder sometimes why I ever gave it up but honestly it has been one of the best things I have been able to do for myself..... I hope that in some way God is able to help you. I see a counselor right now and he asked me yesterday if there was anything he could do to take away the temptations and when I told him no he felt helpless and highly sympathetic. God is going to pull you through this as He has me.... and trusting Him all the time through it is difficult.... and a big challenege but I want each of you to know that I pray for you often and so does my youth pastor.... he gets on here and sometimes reads some of this so that he can pray for you.... I also hope that each of you find that other mechanism the other POSITIVE one..... I love each of you as my brothers and sisters of Christ

Just hang in there and keep on keepin on..... God is with you....

Mandy