Thanks, Aunt Sally!

Dear Aunt Sally:

"I have a self-harming issue. I’ve hurt myself in the past when I’ve been upset with myself or others — or angry about anything at all. Recently, I’ve done it for no reason — just because it makes me feel alive, I guess. My friend has a similar problem. I don’t know what to do or who to turn to. I feel alone and isolated and have withdrawn from friends and family. Because I’m only 15, people don’t realise I feel this way. I’ve become increasingly frustrated with my parents, particularly my mum, as I seem to get blamed for pretty much everything and told I’m wrong (I am bisexual)."

Poor child, seeking help for self-harm. At least Sally Brompton knows how to respond to this this:

"As for feeling you’re bisexual, that’s a normal stage of adolescent development. I’m not trying to minimise your feelings, but I have a 17-year-old daughter and, at exactly your age, many of her group decided they were bisexual and some experimented with self-harming. Right now, you’re trying to feel your way into an identity, and part of that identity is your sexuality. It’s a really difficult age (and not because you’re difficult), because all the big issues about who you are come together with a mix of unsettling hormones. Two years on, my daughter’s group of friends are dating boys and have stopped self-harming."

Oh good! I think the letter-writer was worried that she might have to keep liking girls, and now she knows that everyone else was right and she really is just showing off to get attention, and she ONLY likes boys, just like EVERYONE ELSE. I am glad that Sally saw through the letter that purported to be about self-harm and managed to focus on the really pressing issue of reassuring her that she's probably straight. YAY.