Mandy,

Do you have a guardian? Are you in school? Self-injury is more than just a bad habit, and stopping is more than just finding a method. It is a way of coping, and if you had better ways of coping that worked for you, you would not be hurting yourself. There are some good books and websites, and support groups like this one, but they are not the answer by themselves. Self-injury is a symptom of something deeper, and most people need a therapeutic relationship with someone who they can trust and who is able to guide them through dealing with those feelings that are locked up inside them, in order to be able to change it.

If you have a guardian, they could give consent for you to receive treatment. If you don't, then you could go through the courts to get a guardian appointed. Talk to social services, or DCFS. If you are in school, then you could ask a school counselor or a teacher you trust to help you find the resources you need (which need to include professional therapy).

There are things you can do instead of burning yourself, like going for a walk or doing some other kind of exercise, finding something to keep your hands busy (maybe a hobby - music, art, knitting or crochet), or even less damaging ways to get some pain, like maybe cold instead - you could hold ice cubes against your skin until it melts, or stick your finger into a carton of ice cream. But these things are only temporary solutions. You need to deal with the underlying problems, and that generally is a bigger project than any of us are able to tackle without some help.

I wish you well,

Wendy (aka Rap)

<font color=orange>"If a light beckons to you, follow it. If it leads you into the quagmire, you'll probably find your way out of it again; but if you don't follow it, you'll be plagued for the rest of your life by the thought that perhaps it was your star." Friedrich Hebbet</font color=orange>