Because the people on these forums can give real advice from experience. Because we all know what we're going through.

That s one of the things that concern me, how is a professional therapist going to do a better job than people who are actually going through it?

they really aren't. They try to do their best to help but they really have no idea, deep down...

That was my depressing belief that i let myself be convinced otherwise of. Maybe i don t have to choose, i can try everything. To have a therapist, share with similar people to myself and attempt to lose my inhibitions and talk honestly with, well maybe not all my friends, but just one who i m the most comfortable with.

Damn you're resourceful.

*laugh*

I like your way of taking action. ;p

rapid fire method/quantity over quality/generalist rather than a specialist.

Yep, that sounds about right, that s how i live my life. When you don t have much faith in one, just go for all and see what sticks.

That's actually a very good gameplan...

I'm impressed.

They can't. Not really. They don't know it from experience,they have only read about it and know the dominant theories. Worst case scenarios: 1. They become so concerned they'll have you commited. 2. You may end up with a wrong diagnosis which can be real hard to undiagnose. 3. You're put on medication that may have severe side effects.

It's highly unlikely that they would be able to help you at all. I know from experience that the only one who can get me through any hardship is me.

I have never hurt animals or people, nor have I cut or burned myself.

But I used to beat on my head in anger and frustration. I stopped it when I understood how dangerous it could be.
Then I began hitting myself on the upper arms or thighs in stead. A few years ago I hit my left upper arm so badly that the next day I couldn't use or move it. It was painful and stiff. I was really scared I had broken it or severly damaged it. It lasted for a few days. How was I gonna explain that? Phew!
I never did it that badly again. I still leave bruises but nothing worse than when I bump into something.

No one has seen me do it, I have made sure of that. I have never told anyone IRL and I likely never will.

for me it's rage and frustration that triggers it.

I've cut myself a few times. Would never do it anymore.

I don't get bothered by things quite as badly as I used to.

That s made me rather apprehensive about the whole idea. Before i was just worried about the idea of being alone with some stranger, them saying what would you like to talk about and then i d be put on the spot, wondering exactly what to say, because there s no direct problem, just a whole web of little things and i wouldn t know where to begin.

Now i m wondering that maybe just taking the chance on a therapist is a mistake, I think i ll just focus on getting a job and manage on my own for a while, i m not that bad. If things get really bad, i ll consider it, but for now, i wouldn t be able to afford one anyway.

I'm sorry if I scared you, Hypnos, but 1 and 3 can happen if the shrink thinks it's neccessary or 2 if he/she makes a mistake.

I am really paranoid about 1 happening more than anything.

P.S. I love the new avatar, that s the cutest thing i ve seen in ages.

cuuuut myself.
buuurned myself too.
but my parents and my nurse made me take this dbt course, and it really helped me and i do not cut anymore.

but my left arm is still so scarred, and i dont even bother to cover it, i'm surprised no one asks me about it, but i can see them look.

My left arm is also scarred to hell. I've looked at my left arm only a few times in the past few years. I have much difficulty looking at it because I get highly depressed about the scar-tissue that is left there. If I could turn back time, I'd do it to be scar-less again.

My arms have gotten hairier in the past couple years, so the hair actually helps cover up the scars somewhat. Hooray for arm-hair!

lucky you.
i have many factors preventing me from covering them up with hair, aha
firstly,
i am a girl
secondly,
i am a red head, which means my arm hair is blonde
and lastly,
my scars are on the underside of my left arm where hair does not grow

I only have one scar on the underside of my arm. It's actually a scar left from a burn/cut. I held a flame to my arm for around twenty seconds. It didn't hurt a single bit while I burned myself. After burning myself, I cut myself repeatedly where I had burned myself and was left with a bloody mess.

I was extremely suicidal at the time.

Just cut myself and pierced my lip, nose, and ear several times. If I make an effort to not react to the pain, good or bad, then it doesn't hurt at all. The feeling is just a feeling. That's how I managed to butcher off a mole on my armpit with cuticle scissors not too long ago :P. The scar tissue on my arm is very thick and noticeable even though there are just a few of them. I guess the trick is to cut yourself like a surgeon with the grain of the skin for the scar tissue to be less prominent... Didn't think about that at the time. Also, a few years ago I kept falling down on purpose to try to break or sprain my wrist so I could get out of playing in orchestra. Pretty silly looking back on it :/.

You've never spoken to me about this kind of stuff before.

I have burn marks all over my right thigh and I constantly pick on the skin around my fingernails and chew on my lips a lot.

I don't cut anymore but the worst I did other than overdosing......

I went into a zombie like state once and took a double edged dagger to my forehead. While doing this I said repeatedly "I hate humans" and then when my dad came in and asked what I was doing....

I said, "going crazy, wanna come"?

I'm still amazed I made the man laugh at a moment like that.

I don't know what the worst is, I've done a lot of things to myself, from cutting deep gashes in my arms, to drugs, to starvation.
I chew on my lips alot, but I think that's more of an anxiety thing.

Last winter, I took my mountain bike up into the mountain roads and rode really hard and fast. Not a good idea in the snow. Ended up crashing, and having to crawl my way back home on with my bike in tow.

Did not suffer any injuries beside hurting a lot, and I was going really fast (30-50 kilometers downhill).

I drink. A lot. Every day.
Last year I tried to drink myself to death. I was spending close to $150 a week on liquor. It didn't work. The worst that happened, besides the probable liver damage, was that I would vomit blood every couple of days. I've cut back on it this year, but I might try again.

I also do the not-eating thing. It's not a conscious thing. And I've become numb enough lately that I don't really do it anymore. But last year when a really bad thing happened that finally sent me over the edge, I lost my appetite completely. For over a month. I didn't starve because I forced myself to choke down food every few days, but it made me feel sick.

I don't feel actually depressed anymore. Or, at least, not depressed like I'm used to feeling. Now, I just feel kind of numb. Like nothing matters, and I don't really care about anything.