To:  U.S. Senate and Congress

Dear Lawmakers:

We the undersigned are writing to request that you nationally declare March 1 as Self Injury Awareness Day.

Approximately 2 million people in the United States self injure annually. Types of self injury include: cutting, burning, hair pulling, or wrist banging. It can take other forms as well. People who self injure can be male or female, wealthy or homeless, and of any race. It recognizes no barrier. It is also often misunderstood. People commonly think that when someone self injures that they are attempting suicide. This is not so. However, individuals may self injure because they are feeling overwhelmed with emotions, and are trying to deal with them. Growing up the person may not have received validation for showing emotions and didn’t learn how to cope with them. The use of self injury then became a way of trying to deal with the overwhelming feelings.

Public awareness is one way to shed light on this growing problem. In an effort to reduce the stigma and help reduce some of the myths. It can also help those who self injure along with their family and friends get and/or find treatment. Such treatments can be: individual and/or group therapy, medications, or support groups, just to name a few.

Your assistance in declaring March 1 as Self Injury Awareness Day will be greatly appreciated. It will also help New Mexico and Connecticut’s efforts to shed more light on this growing problem.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned