- image unrelated, i simply needed something which might grab the attention of users. the featured artwork is drawn by etherane

> ! this post will mention topics such as self harm and suicidal ideation, albeit not too in depth. please be safe and read at your own discretion. {𖦹´罒`𖦹}

hellowe. as of late, i've noticed an uptick in posts regarding self harm, suicidal ideation, and other such struggles and it's reached such a point that i feel the inherent danger of these posts should be discussed? or perhaps i read too deeply into these things. whatever the case may be, such posts *should* raise concern among users.

this subreddit is, in large, made up of teenagers who are not only susceptible to online manipulation, but active targets of it. to many of us, this subreddit feels like a second home; so it's only natural that people might begin venting more private issues with little regard as to who might see, because that's what happens in communities like this. but this is?? not safe at all???? we forget these are public forums, occupied by so many people beyond the few active ones we happen to recognize. reddit dot com is not known for its safety of all things

being made up of primarily teenagers, this also leaves so much room for advice that borders on being legitimately harmful to the person hearing it. because teenagers are stupid and say dangerous things, most often without realizing. i should know, being a teenager myself.

tl;dr: reddit is not safe please stop giving us the details of your mental turmoil. in doing so you are actively putting yourself at risk, even if the chances of such seem slim

having said this, please don't hurt yourself. there are resources out there to help you, even if you think yourself to be undeserving of support or care. for mental health resources (in the united states), see the following website.

https://mentalhealthfirstaid.org/mental-health-resources/

i will do my best to make a full list of resources for those in need at a later date, which will be added to this post. if you've any suggestions of resources to add (for any country, not just the US) do let me know. with that, please be safe and take care of yourself. you deserve the effort

psa for user safety, see body text