Name: Debbie
Age: 16
Sex: Female
Location: Mahwah, New Jersey
Age when you first self-injured: 11-12 yrs old
How long have you been self-injuring (months, years): 4 1/2-5 years.

What are/were some of your triggers (i.e. fights with parents, school work, getting dumped, etc.)? fights with parents, overwhelming school work, not realizing/admitting my like for girls. always, denied.

What did you know about self-injury before you started? How?
I knew that this boy was doing it. And i heard all the details because he was DEPRESSED. so i thought, why not i try it? maybe it will make me feel alot better. so i did.
What made you start self-injuring? (the specific incident or trigger if you can remember) Honestly, curiosity. Then i got addicted and almost had to get stitches. Then i did it whenever i got really severly depressed.

Why do/did you self-injure? How does/did it make you feel better?
I self injure because i am still severely depressed and frustrated with myself. Sometimes its out of spite too. It makes me feel so much better by just ripping it through my skin, sometimes knowing its out of spite and somethings just thinking i want to die. and maybe i will.

How do/did you feel before, during, and after the self-injury?
Before i feel so pumped up to do it, so ready and determined, during it i feel so good, so better--then after i regret everything i done. the outcome.

Have there been any health scares that resulted from your self-injury (emergency room visits, etc.)? Did you continue to self-injure despite this?
No ER visits, but five hospitalizations due to cutting, overdosing, anger, anxiety and depression.

If you've been to a psychiatric hospital could you describe your experience? Did it help you? Why or why not? It did not help me to be honest because i think i didnt try enough, and i still dont. and its a bad habit of mine. i do want to get better but i dont, ambivalent about it. So im going to try DBT therapy for cutting and borderline personality disorder.

If you still self-injure do you think you will ever stop? Do you want to stop? Why can't/won't you stop?
I think i will, i have on and off in the past and present. Its an odd habit i have.

If you don't self-injure anymore why did you stop? How did you stop? How hard is it to refrain from doing this?
I sometimes stop out of no more addiction, or depression and its not that hard. But then, it all of a sudden starts up again and it is VERY hard to control to stop cutting.

Have you been diagnosed with any mental disorders? If so, which ones (OCD, Major Depressive Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, etc.)?
Major Depressive Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, ADD, Multiple Learning Disabled, Borderline Personality Disorder, OCD symptoms, Bulimia, Anerexia, Depression..