Silent Slashing

finally begun feeling positive affects from taking the prescribed anti-depressant and anxiety medicine. Group therapy taught me that people with post-traumatic stress disorder also suffer from anxiety. Talking about how much I missed my mother also seemed to release some of my secret rage. Never knowing a way to express myself by the age of twenty-two, I had picked up a paintbrush and was actually quiet good at painting. It was meant to distract myself from wanting to abuse. Whenever I spread paint across the canvas, I felt like I was releasing something. One of the most important things about stopping repetitive abuse is to find other things that the patient can do to enjoy and distract him or herself. Keeping a journal of feelings and a list of things to do when I felt like cutting myself were other learned tools. My liberties increased and I was told by my psychiatrist that I seemed pretty close to coming home.

It is very important that each person in this situation find a support network. While inside the treatment center, my support team was my group, my father, and my caseworkers. When I left, I went to a weekly support group, continued to see my psychiatrist, and continued the hobbies that distracted me from my thoughts of cutting. ***

Patient #2: Rachel, on the other hand, came from a small apartment over a hat shop in Newark. Her father physically abused her when he was on drugs. Both of her parents eventually abandoned her by the age of thirteen. Rachel seemed to manage on her own for a while, but soon lost all of her appetite. Eventually, a schoolteacher took notice of her neglected condition and reported it to social services.

Rachel didn't want to leave her home but finally found a foster home that was good for her. The first time she grabbed a razor and slashed it across her skin, she was fifteen. After talking to the school social worker, Rachel's foster mother took her to see a psychiatrist. Rachel was so angry about being snitched on that she even tried to jump out of a moving car. The psychiatrist suggested that he talk to Rachel alone. He believed that she could be helped as an outpatient by taking medications. Having dealt with something familiar before, Rachel's foster mother respected his opinion and made a follow-up appointment.

"I don't need help. I don't want

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