I think cutting is common enough that most people have heard of it by now, but just in case you haven’t, it’s a coping method. People do things such as cut themselves, burn themselves or pull out their hair, when stressed, depressed, etc. Of course, these things aren’t healthy behaviors and are concerning.
I recently learned that a high school near me has gotten in the habit of suspending kids if they learn that the person has been cutting. When I heard this I felt like someone had kicked me in the stomach.
As many of you know, I’m 19. I’ve only been out of high school for a year. Meaning, I was in middle school when cutting began gaining popularity amongst depressed or struggling teenagers. Some of these kids were very close to me. Some were “just” going through typical teenage stresses, things like nagging parents, final exams, relationship break ups, and too many things piled on at once resulted in them cutting as a way to escape.
For others they had an alcoholic drug addicted mom and an abusive father. They were sexually abused as a kid, and dealt with family drama day in and day out. On top of that, they were bipolar and struggled with high school and were worried about being successful even in a community college.
No matter what the case, the kids were really struggling and didn’t know how else to cope. They needed help. They needed to learn ways of dealing with feelings of loss, stress, anxiety, depression. They need a counselor or a therapist. They need someone to listen, someone to love them unconditionally, they need a hug. The last thing they needed was punishment.
The case I heard about, the kid got kicked out of school for 10 days. That’s 2 weeks. If a kid is stressed to the point of cutting, and then you take them out of school for 2 weeks, that means they have to go back and catch up on 2 weeks of homework. Don’t you think that adds stress, which is the last thing this kid needs? Not to mention, many of these kids come from really bad home situations, and being at home during the day for 2 weeks will make them absolutely miserable that entire time. For many high schoolers school is a place to escape the drama and chaos of their home life.
Cutting in my opinion is similar to anorexia. It’s a “bad” behavior practice but it’s not something to punish someone for. It’s a sign or symptom of a person who doesn’t know how to handle the stresses of life.
I think it’s really sad that there are high schools out there with such little knowledge about self harm, that they would suspend a kid for it. Cutting is scary and it’s a problem, but suspending the kid is NOT the answer!
I hope that you will help me spread the word. These kids need people to be informed about what cutting is and how to help them.
Hi there! I am Emily Evert, the owner of Emily Reviews. I am 28 and live in a small town in Michigan with my boyfriend Ryan and our two pugs. I have a large family and I adore my nieces and nephews. I love reading memoirs, and learning about child development and psychology. I love watching The Game of Thrones, Teen Mom, Sister Wives and Veep. I like listening to Jason Isbell, John Prine, and other alt-country or Americana music. I created Emily Reviews as a creative outlet to share my life and the products that I love with others.
My daughter is Bipolar 1;went through a period of cutting;carried a razor blade in the compact in her purse. She had left school by that time. She explained to me what was going on and why she did it.It stopped after about a year. I think it’s ridiculous for a school to handle a symptom like this with suspension.
librarypat (Pat Barraclough)
Well stated. Serious emotional problems can not be dealt with by punishment or by ignoring them. If they are cutting, they need to see a counselor or a doctor. Since home and family problems are often the trigger, forcing them to spend more time with the problem certainly won’t help.
librarypat (Pat Barraclough)
My daughter is Bipolar 1;went through a period of cutting;carried a razor blade in the compact in her purse. She had left school by that time. She explained to me what was going on and why she did it.It stopped after about a year. I think it’s ridiculous for a school to handle a symptom like this with suspension.