Alex's Answer

Hi there, 

Thank you so much for getting in touch with us here today, you’re really welcome. You say that you’ve been feeling empty recently and have urges to cut. It seems like you are going through a lot right now. 

Feeling empty can be really tough, and hard to understand, but you are not alone in this feeling. It’s something that lots of people experience during their lives. Sometimes it can be a temporary feeling, and maybe connected to something that’s happening in your life. You mentioned feeling this way recently, was there anything that was happening for you when you first started feeling this way? That may be a difficult question to answer, and that’s okay. It may not always be possible to pinpoint exactly where these feelings are coming from, but may help to give you some insight into any life events or changes that could have had an impact. 

Another idea could be to have a think about activities and things in your life that you have enjoyed doing in the past and have brought you joy. Then try to start bringing them back into your life, even trying out one or two to begin with. We know this might not be easy. When you feel empty and maybe like you’ve lost interest in things and don’t have any energy, but having hobbies that really fulfil us can make such a difference to our wellbeing.  

If your feeling of emptiness is something that continues and isn’t going away, we would encourage you to reach out to someone that can help you and make sure you get any extra support you might need. Would there be someone you feel comfortable talking to in your life, maybe a family member, close friend or a teacher? You may need the support of your GP or a counsellor. And you have the right to this help.

You also mention that you have been having urges to cut yourself. You’re really brave to share that with us, and it takes a lot of strength to not act on the urges. In those moments, when you have urges to hurt yourself and you don’t, what helps you the most do you think?  

We will link an article here for you too, that talks about techniques to help you deal with self-harm urges: spunout.ie/mental-health/self-harm/sh-dealing-with-urges-to-self-harm.   

It sounds like you have a lot going on for you right now, but remember that you are important, and you matter, and you have the right to get some help and support with how you’re feeling.

If you’d like to talk a little bit more about what’s going on, we at Childline are always here for you, 24/7. You can share as little or as much as you want, and maybe sometimes it’s easier to talk to someone you don’t know. It’s your space to figure out what you think your best options are, and we can help you do that.

Take care of yourself, and reach out once more for the support you deserve, 

Alex