How to tell someone

[pentecostalgirl0414]

Hi everyone,
I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice. I am going to talk to my youth pastor tomorrow at youth service. I was wondering if anyone could recommend the best way to tell him that I self injure? I would appreciate any replies. Thanks!

 

[brokenwings27]

i honestly dont have a ton advice for you.. since i, myself cant bring myself to tell anyone because of fear, but i have to say i will be praying for you, because i can understand how hard that must be.. well to me it would be.. but i just wanted to say that

 

[Mayflower1]

I handed my pastor a letter and let him read it and then we talked about it. It made it much easier to me, but I waited 3 months before I told him I wrote it. Don't wait long!

 

[ChristInAction]

i havent spoke the words before...
a few people know, but basicly one person told the other & so on..
I told sarah, she had seen the scars once before, i told her i didnt know where they came from & she knew i had things going on but not what. I ask her to talk & i told her about what was going on & she filled in the blanks about the scars.. krystal was a cutter so she guess & confrounted me bout it... & sarah told rachael (her bestie) b'coz she was moving & couldnt help me anymore..

Its not a lot of help with what happened with me... but for me, its easyer to show then tell.

Good luck.
I'll be praying for you.
Ally Xox

 

[Munch]

This might be a little late, you may have already told you pastor, but... here goes:

As a recovered SI, I can tell you that this won't be easy. Do you know anyone who has self-injured and has recovered? If you do, enlist their help. They can act as a go-between and cushion the message. Some of the girls I minister to in youthgroup have taken this method using me.

If you don't know anyone like that, I would recommend the following approach:
1- Tell whomever that you have an unconventional problem and would like to speak to them privately, and to please only listen until you get it all out.
2- Say that you come looking for help, not judgement, and that you want to recover.
3- Say something to the effect of "I self-injure."
4- Ask for their help in coming up with a plan to quit, and find a healthy alternative.

If you need anything, anything at all, prayer, tips for recovery, alternatives, etc., PM me. I'm here to help you.

xxMunch

 

[berry2000]

Late too you may have told.

I know how scary this can be. When I finally told my therapist, yes that's right my therapist, I had been with her over 4 months.

The note is good idea. Speaking out loud is often hard. If you pastor is young and hip an e-mail might get the conversation started.

Be careful though, and make sure that your pastor is a safe person before you share. ONe who might be able to handle this kind of information with a cool sensible head.

Good luck. Please let us know how it goes.

 

[Moriah_Conquering_Wind]

my fiance noticed my burn scars the other day he's like "what happened to your hand?" (it's on my wrist/forearm actually) and before i could even think about it i found myself saying, "nothing! leave me alone!"

:o

ti eusrup ot naht retteb wenk eh

 

[Moriah_Conquering_Wind]

i meant to say burn MARKS not "scars" (scars=old, these=fresh) but it wont let me edit.

 

[ForAMomentIWillFly]

If you're in the united states, by law he's required to tell your parents. You may wish to have them there as well.