You Can't Put a Band-Aid Over Unhappiness

In the realm of self-harm, happiness is sometimes just as much a battle as the fight against self-injury. Maintaining a sense of positivity in your life can be as difficult as turning away from the self-harm urges and triggers that follow your every move. When you are struggling with severe depression, self-harm may become more of an everyday occurrence because it has been the coping skill you have always turned to (even though unsafe and unhealthy). But self-harm is a Band-Aid, and your can't put a Band-Aid over unhappiness.

In a way, self-harm is the Band-Aid people use to cover up unhappy emotions. When the self-harm mark is made and you have gained that ounce of joy you had hoped for, you may realize that some unhappiness still lingers once the Band-Aid has been taken off. Depression does not just go away when a cut or burn scar is created. Whether or not a scar survives, you remember those emotions and take the negative feelings with you until you find a healthy outlet for them.

Even though not everyone struggles with depression or a mental illness, everyone understands how it feels to be unhappy. Whether unhappy with their personal life, work life or a relationship, the feelings of unhappiness are unfortunately universal. It can take years to finally come to terms with those emotions and find ways to attack them.

However, you shouldn’t settle on an easy fix (or a Band-Aid) when it comes to your happiness.

Band-Aids Will Not Cure Unhappiness, Self-Harm and Depression

Recently, I’ve been battling demons when it comes to my personal happiness. Certain parts of my life seem to fit into place while other parts have me feeling absolutely miserable. Even though I know I have control over my actions and emotions, it can be very difficult to maintain a sense of positivity when your surroundings are not supporting of it. I have been finding small ways to feel better when feeling miserable in these situations, but these emotions continuously return.

I am learning I cannot put a Band-Aid on this unhappiness and need to find a forever way to stop these unhappy emotions.

You are the most important person in your life, whether or not you believe it. Your genuine happiness should come first and when you push that happiness to the side, or find a temporary way to fix it, negative emotions build up. All self-harmers know that when negativity builds up in the mind and body, you take it out on yourself in harmful ways (Why I Self-Harm).

Don’t physically cover yourself in Band-Aids when you could be proactive and find a way to make a healthy change. It isn’t easy stepping forward and making a big move when that big move could truly alter your life. However, if that big step forward is altering your life so that happiness returns and stays, it is worth the step.

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