THE HARBINGER Shawnee Mission East l 7500 Mission Road, PV KS, 66208 l April 1, 2013 l Issue 13 l www.smeharbinger.net
H G U O R H T G N I T CUT
The Harbinger addresses the issue of self-harming at East written by Katie Knight
photo illustration by Stefano Byer
Junior Reagan Woods* was prepared. She knew Pascal’s triangle. She’d memorized the equation of a circle. She knew how to find the conjugate. This Algebra 2 test would be the easiest thing she’d done all week. But, for some unknown reason, once she sat down and began her test, she froze. Her heart pounded. She broke out in sweat. What is this? She thought. No. Okay, I know this. Wait, is that a circle or an ellipse? S---, I know this stuff, what the hell am I doing? As her test anxiety grows, thoughts of everything that had ever caused her anxiety flooded her head as well — starving people, dying animals. And in the midst of all the chaos, she gave up. Her mind went blank; she had failed. Disappointed in herself, Woods skipped her next class,
headed home and went straight for the bathroom. She closed the door, pulled out the Xacto knife blade hidden in her phone case and began. She starts at her rib cage — nobody will check there. Then, she switches to her hip right below her bone. She presses until she draws blood and continues down her leg. She digs the blade in, farther than she’s ever gone before. Tomorrow, she will hide the fresh cuts under a new shirt. And though it may feel like it, she’s not the only student at East hiding scars. * * * According to East counselor and social worker Becky Wiseman, students come into her office about self harming issues often enough to know that it is a prevalent problem. Wiseman says there are countless reasons for teenagers to
harm themselves; some students face underlying family problems at home or issues with self image that cause depression. Others constantly feel stress and anxiety because of the increasingly high expectations for teenagers. All in all, there is no universal diagnosis or treatment, and that is what Wiseman thinks makes it a tricky issue to treat. “There is no straight shot when it comes to self harm; I do think [the motivation to harm] is truly different for every person,” Wiseman said. “Sometimes there’s some self punishment in it. Sometimes there’s some relief if someone is feeling incredibly anxious or upset with themselves, or frustrated with a situation.”
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*Name changed to protect identity