Henna Tattoos and self Harm Reduction

I have said before scars are just tattoos with better stories. What do we do when these scars are from self harm and carry much shame and no interesting stories, just pain? There is a natural therapeutic form of help....................

My mental illness is no secret at HubPages. I write a great deal about it. What we need to understand are the actions and reactions that stem from mental illness. To do so as a means of reaching out in hopes of helping another.

The success of this treatment [self administered] became a healthy new coping mechanism and the inspiration share what not many have still heard of, I also had not heard of these treatments. This is one of the most accurate, and compassionate pieces I have written on this disorder.

Marriage Counseling?, Chemotherapy and baldness? Surgery? Self Mutilation? Tribal Rituals? Event Tattooing? Hair enhancer? Scarring Solutions? Hindu Weddings? Marker for Radiology? Body Art? Sex? Skin Graphing? Cooling treatments for sun effects? Celebrating new Births? And BODY ART. Henna now plays a role in all these.

How do I know this, specifically with self injury? I have a Borderline Personality Disorder, which comes with a lifetime of self cutting, self harm and mutilating and I also abused drugs via IV/ self administered needles. Very quickly for me, the needle became an addiction in that of itself.

Some words to describe this illness are; of self harm / cutting are; pain, sight, blood, scars, isolation, secrets, shame, no self worth, lack of self esteem, precision, relief, usually past abuse, mutilation, loneliness, addiction, control, then lastly and shockingly the release of pain. Mental and emotional pain. There is an answer and I am going to describe this brilliant treatment I learned of a few years ago

I was still cutting and causing myself to bleed as my coping mechanism as well as use needles full or empty to create my own different pain. One I could control and one that would let me escape what issues I needed to for most of my life.

My boyfriend feeling helpless, started to research treatments, for this as you can imagine his concern and the need to want to help me.

Ill back up a bit. What is Henna? Henna, as used, is a natural dirt based paste once mixed with water. It is 100% natural and comes from a flowering plant and the sole species in a line of genus plants from the Lawsonia family of Lythraceae.

This means nothing, better described; I tell you it's a thin mud that stains in an orange, light brown color for approximately 6 weeks.

This is why Henna tattooing is beautiful when done properly. My boyfriend however found a site in England that treated self injury by switching the obsession to Henna tattooing. By using it very similar the same way without any damage. But for me, came an incredible mess. Easy enough, have a Henna sheet you can work on.

I first was ecstatic and instead of hurting myself used a needle top bottle of henna and began to create. That first time I spent 15 hours and messed and stained myself everywhere. But I understood the concept. However it was a long 6 weeks.

The intricate designs and hours of body painting I couldn't believe took my needle and knife cravings away. Then because it is mud once it dries you have to pick it off as though you were pulling and picking away pain. Once that was removed a stain of your design almost resembled blood by it's color and imaginary markings.
I have since learned to Henna where my skin is not exposed and sometimes will do a tattoo bracelet or sandal foot design.

There are so many medical and physiological, beauty and ritual uses for Henna now having a developing for the past 9000 years. They have traced some of these Henna rituals back as far as 1550 BC in Egypt where it was used for medical purposes with prayer.

My prayer has been answered. I have not hurt myself in 2 years. I may not be a special artist in this area but I'll settle for messy stains rather than messy scars.

Thank you Henna, I think we will be together a very long time.

If you are suffering from self injury, try this, I promise you it doesn't make much sense on paper but it makes the world of sense on your body.