• Visually dealing with traumatic emotions can feel safer than dealing with them in words
• It lets us express things we cannot express in words
• It is helpful in releasing emotions
• It is a powerful therapeutic process that has meaning and comes directly from our own feelings and imagination
• It allows us to get to know ourselves
• It is available to everyone
• It enhances our lives and reduces stress
Creative expressions by people who self-injure
Poetry
Artist
I am an artist that no one knows
I draw pictures
That are hidden under clothes
I draw things with a twist
Pictures on my thighs
And on my wrists
No pen
No ink
But with a razor blade
I start to paint
Anonymous
A completely original title
Insecurities and flaws
Strawberry lipgloss covers the bruise
Big hair and black eyeliner
Feeling a little used
Converse shoebox full of secrets
Razor blades and knifes
Hidden underneath my bed
Not meant for you to find
Cut my arm and cut my wrist
Cut my shoulder, for a little twist
Crimson lines of sorrow
Pouring fresh from my scarred skin
Hurt myself and the outside
To kill what is within
Pull the black long sleeve back down
To cover what I've done
Put a fake smile on my face
Now, wasn't that just fun?
Anonymous
Loves True Colours
I've been so timid with you
While you try to make me bold
But I only get by with a mask
A piece of clay to mold
Hidden beneath a smile
Lying for both our sakes
Nobody could ever know
How much energy it takes
You do your best to help me
Yet your actions make it worse
Your voice my only solace
Your words a chanted curse
Darkness, black under moonlight
Depression, blue like an ocean
These colours drip bright red
With the white-hot pain of emotion
I'm scared to dig much deeper
But love just makes me bold
Let's hope that all these scars
Fade away once they're old
Anonymous
Nobody
who's there?
nobody.
nobody there to help me.
it's so sad.
i'm so mad.
it isn't fair.
to have these fears.
wondering why there's nobody to help me out.
maybe if i shout it out loud.
nah, that wouldn't help me.
nobody will ever help me.
and after all this time
i finally know the reason why;
i'm nobody
and nobody cares.
blind.
i'm just blind.
bleed.
just bleed, damn it.
just let this nothingness consume me;
consume my pain and shame.
it'll always be the same;
i'm nobody
and nobody's there to save me.
Anonymous
Your Smile
Stop trying to lie to us -
Tell us that you're fine.
We can see that you're not -
We're not blind.
Why can't you trust us?
Sorry...
But I must ask:
Why don't you see?
Why don't you tell me?
I've realised -
Nothing's like it used to be.
Please, trust and talk?
You make my life worthwhile:
I would give anything -
Just to see you smile...
Anonymous
Scars Say
i will not be
i will not be
defined by my scars
but they will tell me
some of who you are
when you look
what will you see
will you use them
to define me
will they be repulsive
insanity’s signature
will they be unsettling
leave you unsure
will i suddenly be
more sick than you thought
thinking no well person
would seek what i sought
will you turn away
from the proof of my pain
believing them to be
my soul’s permanent stain
will you be mad
that i suffered alone
that i didn’t reach out
when my torment was known
will there be pity
deep in your eyes
or will you be
somehow unsurprised
whatever you say
whatever you do
my scars will say less of me
and more about you
Anonymous
Dear Cutting,
Dear Cutting,
Thank you for being such a great friend.
Thank you for always being there for me.
Thank you for helping me out when I couldn't continue on my own...
I'm sorry, though, because I don't need you anymore, Cutting.
I don't want this type of help that you give me. I don't want to hide in a dark bathroom anymore while people are outside laughing. I want to be one of the ones who laugh.
I don't have the time to give to you anymore, and you are too greedy, you keep wanting more and more time.
I am all grown up now, and yet you make me feel like a frightened little child. Swimming through tidal waves isn't good enough for me anymore, I want to learn how to fly.
See, I have discovered that you're not just an anti-anxiety pill...I have discovered that you are also a very dangerous one. You are eating away my insides, taking away what little control that I have, and I can't afford to lose anything more that belongs to me.
I don't need what you give me, because what you are taking away from me is even more important to me.
Examples of songs about cutting:
Under the Bridge by Red Hot Chili Peppers
She’s Falling Apart by Lisa Loeb
All My Life by Foo Fighters
Breathe by Sira
Black and Blue by Counting Crows
Bleed Like Me by Garbage
Changes by Three Doors Down
Footsteps by Pearl Jam
Into the Void by Nine Inch Nails
Leave the Light On by Beth Hart
Never Seen Blue by Tori Amos
Smoke by Natalie Imbruglia
Today by Smashing Pumpkins
Helena by My Chemical Romance
Numb by Holly McNarland
Part of Me by Linkin Park
Point of View by Silverchair
Artwork
Examples of songs about cutting:
Under the Bridge by Red Hot Chili Peppers
She’s Falling Apart by Lisa Loeb
All My Life by Foo Fighters
Breathe by Sira
Black and Blue by Counting Crows
Bleed Like Me by Garbage
Changes by Three Doors Down
Footsteps by Pearl Jam
Into the Void by Nine Inch Nails
Leave the Light On by Beth Hart
Never Seen Blue by Tori Amos
Smoke by Natalie Imbruglia
Today by Smashing Pumpkins
Helena by My Chemical Romance
Numb by Holly McNarland
Part of Me by Linkin Park
Point of View by Silverchair
Artwork
"Beautiful Girl"
"Broken Flower"
Self Art
"Attempts of Fixing a Broken Heart"
"All I Want"
"Self Portrait"
"Not a Fashion Statement"
"Emotion"
"Self Portrait"
"Dripping Down Red"
"Fetal Position"
"Love Worth Dying For"
"Miss World"
"Pain Overcomes Fear"
"Worthless"
"Silver Lining"
"Sapphire"
"Save Me"
"Pain Overcomes Fear"
"Of Course"
"Judge Not"
"Invisible"
"Straight Jacket"
A quote on self-injury.
"We are male and female. We are artists, athletes, students, and business owners. We have depression, PTSD, eating disorders, borderline personalities, bipolar disorder, or maybe no formal diagnosis at all. Some of us were abused, some were not. We are straight, bi, and gay. We come from all walks of life and can be any age. We are every single race or religion that you can possibly think of. Our common link is this: We are in pain. We self-injure. And we are not freaks." Anonymous
"We are male and female. We are artists, athletes, students, and business owners. We have depression, PTSD, eating disorders, borderline personalities, bipolar disorder, or maybe no formal diagnosis at all. Some of us were abused, some were not. We are straight, bi, and gay. We come from all walks of life and can be any age. We are every single race or religion that you can possibly think of. Our common link is this: We are in pain. We self-injure. And we are not freaks." Anonymous
Info on art and healing: Art Healing
Poetry: Holding Hope
Self-Injury Poetry
Artwork: Self-Injury Artwork
Individuals who would like to contribute can email: drawings, photographs, and poems to be posted to our site. Content will be monitored.
Poetry: Holding Hope
Self-Injury Poetry
Artwork: Self-Injury Artwork
Individuals who would like to contribute can email: drawings, photographs, and poems to be posted to our site. Content will be monitored.
