Self-Harm – Reasons Not To Hurt Yourself by Cheryl Rainfield, 2011
- Because you do not deserve to be hurt, not by anyone, not even yourself;
- Because you deserve the same compassion, kindness, and love that everyone else does, and that you would give to a friend;
- Because if you hurt yourself, you are repeating and reinforcing what your abusers or people who put you down told you, and none of that is true;
- Because any relief you may get from hurting yourself is only fleeting and will not last, and because you will need to keep hurting yourself more frequently and worse to get that tiny bit of relief, and may end up doing permanent damage or may even inadvertently kill yourself;
- Because you have already been through so much pain and do not need more pain added to that;
- Because you have a voice and have a right to be heard;
- Because you deserve to have compassion for yourself, the way others have it for you;
- Because there are safer, gentler ways to find some relief and you deserve to find those ways;
- Because even if you do not believe it, hurting yourself will hurt the people who truly love you;
- Because you deserve to be treated gently and with love, not with hate;
- Because you are not to blame for anything that happened to you as a child;
- Because you will hurt your body and your body is not to blame for anything;
- Because hurting yourself is abusing yourself, and you do not deserve to be abused;
- Because it’s better and kinder to reach out to others and get support, or to find inner resources to rely on, rather than to add to your own hurt and torment;
- Because one day you will see the beauty in yourself and know that you should be treated with care;
- Because you are lovable and loved, and deserve to be treated with love;