Self-Exposed

So one of my friends found out about my self Harm (she saw my wrists) and she was quite supportive but she then pressured me to tell another friend who then told two more of my friends and none of them have told anyone else yet. The first person, like a month after she found out she came to me and said that she’s been cutting for the passed two days so when I asked why she said I’m extremely depressed and then laughed and then the friend that told everyone cane to me and said that she self harms because she thinks that her girlfriend is “extremely depressed ” because of her. But nowwww the second girl is blackmailing me she says things like if you don’t let me [punch,kick etc..] you then I’ll tell everyone and she said if I tell anyone about her blackmailing me then not only will she tell everyone she’ll film me (doing something like getting changed for pe or going to the toilet) and posting it online I really don’t know what to do and I can’t even tell the school because they’ll talk to her and she’ll know it was me. Please help! Sorry for this long message....she constantly beats me up people keep thinking my parents abuse me and then say I’m attention seeking and it’s getting wayyyy out of hand please help... thank you ~ Corey

Hello, first of all I’m really sorry to hear of your situation. This must be really difficult for you and I want to start by saying how brave it is that you’ve come somewhere for advice. To start, it was unfair if your friend to pressure you into telling more people, self harm is a very personal struggle and it was really brave of you to come forward and tell someone about it. The girl who is blackmailing you doesn’t sound like much of a friend, and although it seems like a scary thing to do, I think telling an adult is the best step forward here. What she’s doing is not okay, threatening and physically harming you are very wrong and if the school find out, they may be able to take steps to stop this, such as excluding her or ensuring she’s not in any lessons you’re in. You may want to tell a parent/carer first, as they may also be able to help and offer emotional support. I’m also wondering if your friends know about this? Would they be able to stay around you so she doesn’t have a chance be mean? I hope this clears up for you soon, nobody should have to feel this way. Emmy x

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