Thank you for the question. It sounds like you really care about your brother and you don’t want him to make the same decision you did when it comes to coping. It’s up to you whether you want to tell your brother why you were in the hospital, but remember that you do not owe him an explanation for being in the hospital or for self-harming, so talk to him about this only if you feel comfortable! If you do tell your brother what happened, make sure he knows that self-harm isn’t healthy and you don’t want him to do that to himself. It sounds like through your experiences you’ve learned a lot about self-harm as well as other ways to cope. Maybe you could explain some of the new strategies that you have learned, placing emphasis on them instead of the self-harming behavior.
I know you didn’t mention having parents involved here – if you do have parents who you can talk to about this sort of thing maybe you could get them involved here and have an open conversation with them and your brother, about self-harm, mental health, and how to cope when you are going through a rough time. If you have a therapist or counselor that you trust, you may also be able to ask them about tips for dealing with this subject. You can also give your little brother our contact info – we’d love to be able to help him cope in a healthy way with any issues he is having, and the same goes for you.
