Dear Future President,

Hi I'm a freshman in high school. I live in Missouri. This year my classmates and I have been watching the presidential election and I have noticed an important situation in the U.S. Most young people are the ones who think of self harming. The more common age to self harm is 13-25 years old. For anyone to self harm, it wouldn't have to be a big situation. Some self harmers have harmed for the little things. Others just self harm on a daily base situations. For most people it doesn't take that much pain for someone to want to self harm. Self harm is a deep emotional pain. Just because people self harm doesn’t mean they have an illness, they may just feel alone. People don't basically need a reason to self harm, most of them think it's just fun and that is ok to do it. Just like my family member, my aunt tried to self harm for many years. One day she couldn't take the pain anymore. She kept thinking suicide was the only answer. She got to a point where she almost took her life. Since then she's been trying so hard to stop self harming. It's a regular thing for her and she hasn't been able to stop at all. She said it's easier to start than to stop.

I instantly went to the kitchen,

found a blade and tried to rethink it,

i didn't change my mind, there was no time,

the urge grew stronger,

so i hesitated no longer.

According to National Alliance on Mental Illness(NAMI,an organization dedicated to teaching and helping people learn about mental illness), "self harm is not a mental illness, but is a behavior that indicates a lack of coping skills". Self-harm may feel like a release. To most people out there they think self harm is for mental people, but what they don't realize is that people are people and it's normal for some to end up feeling alone. Some are so alone that they don't know how to deal with their personal emotions or situations. The NAMI think Hurting yourself, or thinking about hurting yourself is a sign of emotional distress. These emotions may increase intensely and if a person continues to use self-harm as a coping mechanism. The RC Psych Royal College of Psychiatrists (teachers who show how to work with disordered teens or adults) states, "1 in 10 of us self-harms by taking tablets, cutting, burning, piercing or swallowing objects". This may lead to suicide or depression. This is why self harm isn't an ideal thing to participate in.

Thank you for taking your time to read my letter of concern.

Respectfully,

Diana