I saw a friend of mine bleeding from her cutting herself and I became terrified and shocked...to the point I felt dizzy, couldn't think straight and was feeling sick to my stomach.

...I am feeling like I won't be able to handle the sight of blood from wounds anymore...

but that's besides the point...
I did help to comfort her as soon as I did figure out what was going on and I did eventually help but...I can't help but feel like I am not doing enough for her...

She has already seeked help for it and all that and I don't think there is much more to do that I can help...

Does anyone have advice on how to help me deal with this..? I actually feel like this was the most traumatic thing I have gone through and I don't know how to help my friend or help myself now...

It just scares me because she is like a big sister to me and I don't want to loose her... I just don't want her to feel alone or sad... I do try to prevent these thing but... we live fairly far apart and when these things happen I feel like there is very little I can do about it...I sometimes even feel like the cause of it even though I know it's not me...

Self-injury is often a way of coping. I don't know her background or what she's going through so I can't say what her exact reasons for doing it are. I used to struggle with self-injury. There were three reasons I did it. Sometimes I did it out of guilt/shame. I felt I deserved to be punished. I also did it to distract me from emotional pain. Physical pain was easier to deal with than emotional pain. I also sometimes did it because I needed help and I didn't know how to ask for it. I felt depressed and lonely and insecure, but I didn't know how to express that in order to get the love and attention I needed to feel better. So by cutting, I turned it into something visible.

There are also other reasons people cut, but I'm not going to go into all of them. The best way to help her is to try to understand her. First, learn more about self-injury and the reasons people do it. I own a book called "Inside a Cutter's Mind: Understanding and Helping Those Who Self-Injure" by Jerusha Clark with Dr. Earl Henslin. It helped me understand myself more and I know it can help others, including you, understand more about what goes on inside the mind of someone who self-injures. Also, see if she wants to talk about it. Ask her what's bothering her. Just be there to listen. If she doesn't want to talk about it, don't push her, just let her know that you're there for her. That's really all you can do.

Thank you Shiki for your insight, it's really appreciated in this hard time... :')

>>2 100% agree.

I thought I would give my insight, considering that I'm actually in the same position that you are! Or, I was. I've had friends who have self-harmed before, and it scared me a lot because I didn't want them to feel so bad as to do this.

I know there are alternatives to self-harm, and I tried to support them by showing them that. Some of them were appreciative of it, while some of them didn't really want to talk about it. It depends on the person, I believe, so I would definitely take >>2 's suggestion and read up on it.

All you can really do for someone who self-harms, I've learned, is do your best to support them. Never grow angry with them for it, and don't ever push them into discussing something that they don't want to discuss. If they are someone you truly care about, you have to try and understand regardless and be there with them through their struggles.

Three out of five of my friends are now x-years clean, and one is on her way to recovery. I really, really hope that the both of you have such luck. ;u;