2008 - Communication Across the Curriculum (CAC)

P s y c h o l o g y
someone about their obstacles, they cut themselves to forget
about them and focus on their deep tissue being punctured.
Some of the students said that just being interviewed and talking
to someone who is open-minded really helped them out and
gave them a different aspect on mutilating themselves. To keep
others from starting this upsetting act, we need to encourage
people not to be so judgmental and to be a listener to those in
need of comfort and understanding.
I have never understood why people hurt themselves to avoid
their problems and I always looked down on them because
I assumed they were doing it just for attention. My best friend
used to cut himself when we were younger; he started it up right
after his parents went through a divorce. I did not judge him but
I could never comprehend why he felt the need to do that to
himself. We fought about it quite a bit and I finally convinced him
to stop because he saw how upset it made me and he realized
that I was there for him to talk to always. I cannot imagine
doing that to myself because I have never had anything truly
terrible happen to me and generally I am a very happy person.
I learned that to really understand someone and what they are
going through you have to put yourself in their shoes instead of
just thinking about your life and how you handle things. Each
person is different so the way you handle situations might not
be the best way for someone else to handle the same situation.
In this journal article it says “phenomenology is the study of the
world as we experience it in the present” (as cited in Moyer,
2007, p.43). I love the meaning of this word because it sounds
to me like a fascinating study and the way to really discover
things is by experiencing them yourself instead of hearing about
other people’s experiences at a different time. We all interpret
things differently and you cannot learn from someone else’s
interpretations. I agree with everything I have read in this journal
article and I believe that the researchers were very successful in
their findings.
References
Moyer, M., & Nelson, K. W. (2007). Investigating and understanding self-mutilation:
The student voice. Professional School Counseling, 11, (1), 42-48. Retrieved
February 20, 2008, from Academic Search Premier database.
8 1
W r i t i n g A c r o s s t h e C u r r i c u l u m