Seven 9s and 10s

Dear Cutters,

That post has well over 1,100 notes now.

I originally posted it because I thought it was an interesting image: the context being that it was a box full of razor blades sitting in the hallway of a high school in the middle of summer construction. It had absolutely nothing to do with the context that many of you are now reading into it, and I kind of hate that it has suddenly taken on a life of its own as an image that is enticing to cutters. But hey, art is art and this is what happens.

If any of you kids have stopped by steelopus.com thinking you’d find a haven for self-harm, well then you must be pretty disappointed by now - and yes, I deliberately used the word kids - because, of the hundreds of your blogs that I’ve checked out today, the overwhelming majority belong to teenagers.

Obviously I’m just some internet-stranger who has no comprehension of why you feel like self-harm is a solution to whatever problem you may be experiencing, so I’m not really in any position to give advice. I’m about as far from a mental health expert as you’ll find, but I was once a teenager and one thing I can promise you is that there are healthy and non-destructive ways to deal with your problems.

If you feel that family and friends can’t help you then all I can do is point you towards google and advise you to search for hotlines relating to whatever might be bringing you down. Help is out there, and it’s free, and it works.

Just please stop cutting yourselves.