In an encouraging message to her followers, Deyjah Harris, the daughter of rapper T.I., took to Instagram on Tuesday to recognize Self-Injury Awareness Day.
Harris shows her scars in the Instagram post in the Instagram post and conveys how she hopes to help others by sharing her pain.
“Perhaps I had to experience this in order to be able to help someone else that is or will deal with this…I mean, we hurt so that we can help others heal from that same pain, right?” Harris said. “I don’t need any sympathy; I don’t need any of you to try and guess why I did this to myself; I don’t need you to tell me things like “oh, you shouldn’t do that to yourself, you’re too pretty for that” etc. because that will change nothing.”
Harris concluded her Instagram post by encouraging those who suffer from self-harm to live in their truth and remain brave.
“All I need for you to do is simply speak and live in your truth like I always encourage you to do,” she said. “I need you to see that if I can be brave enough to share this part of myself/my journey with the world, then you can too; a lot of people don’t talk about the fact that there are multiple forms of self-harm, so for those of you that can’t relate to cutting but you can relate to other forms, I see you too and you’re not alone, TRUST me when I say that.. but let me tell you this, don’t you dare spend the rest of your life hiding who you are/what you’ve been through.”
“I don’t care if you think people will judge you, if you think people will think you’re not right in the head, if you think it’ll make people love or like you less, or if you think people will say you’re doing it for attention, you deserve to share your story… when or if YOU’RE ready,” Harris continued. “Your story can + will save so many lives, and you don’t even know it yet. There is nothing that any of you can NOT talk to/tell me about. I told you this was a nonjudgmental and safe space, and I mean that sincerely. Although this is only for one day, every day is a good day to bring awareness to self-harm or mental health in general, especially in the Black community. I love you/you are loved, you are seen, you MATTER, and you deserve everything good in the world. don’t you ever forget or doubt that….take care of yourself, ok? have a great week..”
In a separate post, Harris credited her father, T.I., her mother Niko, and her stepmother, Tameka “Tiny,” for the support and encouragement she needed to share her story, praising them for motivating her to get therapy and supporting her.
“I just want to quickly thank my parents for always being so patient with me… even when y’all didn’t really understand. anytime i might’ve returned back to square one,” Harris said. “Y’all were always working together to figure out what it is that y’all can do to make life worth living for me… and I genuinely appreciate everything you both have done for me. I thank you for never giving up on me no matter how much bullsh*t I might’ve put you through.”
She mentions that her parents deserve happiness and hopes they will never feel responsible for her self-harm.
“Whether it was paying for years of therapy + God knows what else, I thank you for standing by my side no matter what… no matter who might’ve judged me. honestly, if it weren’t for y’all, ain’t no telling where I’d be in life at the moment… so i thank you. i hope you two never feel as though what i go through/feel has anything to do with you,” She said. “As i always say, anytime my thoughts convince me that I shouldn’t be here, all I have to do is think of you @ms_niko_ or you @troubleman31, and I’ll always stay. I love you both … and also, I love you too, @majorgirl, thank you for being you. you three deserve all the happiness and peace money can buy + so much more. thank you again for being so patient and i love you forever.”
Harris received a great deal of support from her followers, who sent her love for sharing her story and the many connected to it.
“I don’t think there’s a celebrity child i appreciate more than you. How real you are, how humble you came to be! Through the trials and tribulations that women face, you came out as you! I love you, I thank you, and most of all, I see you too,” one commenter said.
“It sucks sometimes being a person who can feel EVERYTHING… even the hurt & pain of others you don’t know. If I could tell you anything, it would be that things brighter up you won’t feel anything forever!! I love you for this,” another follower chimed in.
Her mother, Niko, commented on the post, commending her daughter for her fearlessness and praying for healing for all those who deal with self-harm.
“THIS WAS SO BEAUTIFUL SWEET BABY NEVER LET ANY ONE/THING DIM YOUR LIGHT, OR TAKE YOUR EYES OFF THE PRIZE,” Deyjah’s mother, Niko, said. “I PRAY LOVE AND HEALING FOR EVERYONE DEALING WITH THINGS SPOKEN, OR UNSPOKEN.”
The 20-year-old has used her Instagram to speak about her mental health in the past and periodic mental health check-ins with her followers. People who have experienced, or are experiencing, the same thing will likely find comfort in this post.
