Youth Small Med
What measures can be taken to help prevent a teen from cutting?
My sister hsa been dabbling with cutting for the past year or so.. She was at a military youth academy for 5.5 months and came home about 2 weeks ago- Has had the easy life since she got home, just hanging out and being on her computer all day.
Discovered about 12 more cuts on her arms today, brand new. Mom knows, Dad knows.
What can we do around the HOUSE to prevent her from this? Require her to be in a room with someone 24/7? video camera? strip her room daily for sharp objects?
Obviously she needs mental professional help, and that is on the way- However, its not easily achievable in my small town, nor is it affordable, and literally nowhere in town takes our insurance. When she was at the academy, she saw a therapist once a week and was prescribed meds for Bipolar Disorder/Depression, although i dont know if they kept her on them or not. THere was no improvement, she kept trying to cut herself there anyway.
Help?
Keep EVERYTHING sharp away from her, shell hate you for it but, if you want to stop her, you'll have to.
Nothing plastic, nothing metal, no mirrors, no tweezers, not even spoons. I've broken mirrors, snapped spoons, broken plastic things to cut myself when I've been desperate. I've even used coke cans, and the pull rings from them, and plastic forks, broken bronzer cases & used the plastic, I've pulled apart my eyelash curler, and used a sharp end.. there are ENDLESS things you can self harm with.
If you REALLY want to stop her, body checks too, when she comes out of the bathroom, before she goes in, before she leaves the house, when she comes home. I've put gum in my mouth, & stuck a blade to it. I've wrapped up something sharp, and put it in my underwear before. If she's like me, she'll do anything to hide her objects, and probably won't keep them in her room where you can look for them.
When you can, don't let her be alone, give her a set time limit for getting dressed, being in the shower etc. Keep a video camera in her room.
Yes, she may "hate" you for it but, you have to do what you have do to keep her safe.
If there's anything else I can help with, talk to me on msn. 
