[Sophrosyne]

Hey,

Having someone talk to a teacher without your permission and before you are ready to talk can be quite scary, especially if they are talking to your parents as well. Seeing as the teacher is going to talk to your parents, could you have a talk to them first just to see their reaction and explain it better than the teacher would. You are right, it is a coping method, it just happens to be a negative one. Not every alternative works for everyone, but trying to find ones that do work is a good idea. If you try one and it doesn't work, then try another one, but don't give up. Yes they will try to make you stop but only because it is harmful, and they may even try and help with alternatives and finding more. If you think your parents will have a bad reaction to it, you don't have to talk to them before the teacher does but either way they are going to find out, and as scary as it may seem they only want what's best for you. If you want to find a list of alternatives, there are some here

I'm sorry about the sexual assault that happened, that can have a very negative effect on your life and you did not deserve that to happen. I know it isn't as easy as just trying to forget about it and let it go, and I'm not going to say that. Could you talk to someone about that? Talk to a counsellor, psychologist, someone who will be able to give professional help. They may also be able to help with the self harm as they work on the sexual assault.

I hope the conversation with your parents goes well, and that you get the help you deserve with the self harm and assault.
Take care.