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Abused friend, advice?

My guy friend, when I saw him 2 weeks ago, showed me his arm which had scars that revealed a word (I don’t know what the word is) and there was more on his other arm, he did them himself. He told me his parents abuse him physcially, and no one at his school will listen to him. He was very upset when he told me. No one will help him and he is an only child, 7th grade. What can I do for him? I mean, I dont know if he wants me to tell anyone. And also, hes a big faker when it comes to getting attention. So im not so sure if hes telling the truth. Its all confusing… Any advice?

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Answer #1

People usually inflict harm on themselves because they need their pain to show- to be visible, because for whatever reason- the pain they have has gone un-noticed or not validated. He may be being abused, he may not be. Either way he obviously has some kind of issue if he is carving things into his skin. For that reason alone- you absolutely need to tell someone. He is crying out for help-dont let him down. Sometimes this type of self-hatred can lead to suicide- if that were to happen and you had not told anyone -it wouldnt be your fault but you would certainly live with the guilt. He may not want you to tell anyone, but at the same time he knows he needs help and secretly wants it. Do the right thing!

Answer #2

If his parents were going to abuse him, they would not cut his arms to write words. He wants attention and needs help. Talk to a school counselor or teacher and tell them what is going on. Most likely they will schedule an appointment with his parents. But you really HAVE to tell someone.

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