So for my school we have these self evaluations we complete for teachers to reference when writing recommendations. One question is to discuss personal obstacles/unusual circumstances that may have affected schoolwork. I self harmed from middle school until the beginning of junior year, where when I was at the hospital for another illness some doctors talked to me and kind of made me stop. I haven’t done it since november, and have no urges to anymore. I feel like dealing with this did kind of affect my performance in school, because I had a lot of guilt and emotional problems to work through, but I feel like I’ve come past this and have received closure. It is an important part of me, but it’s my past. It would just be information for my teachers to use when writing my recs, they wouldn’t be sent to colleges or anything. Should I include this in my self evaluation letter? Or is it better left out? Thanks
If you want to keep that information private then no need to put it on the self-evaluation. You can be vague about the self-harming and just talk about the reasons behind it (ex. insecurity, etc.) or simply write about another topic such as the illness that put you in the hospital. You should feel proud that you got the help you needed and were able to overcome that issue but it is 100% within your right to keep it private if you choose.
What are the recommendation letters for if you don’t send them to colleges? I do agree that self-harm is a touchy subject, and it’s also something that’s very personal to you, so don’t feel obligated to include it. I like happy1’s suggestion of being vague. You can write about some of the factors that might have influenced you to self-harm. You could also emphasize that one of the things you are most proud about in your high school journey is learning to cope with negative feelings and deciding to build yourself up instead of tear yourself down, things like that.
The recommendation letters are for colleges, but my self evaluation that I am writing to give to my teachers is just for them and not for colleges (sorry if that was unclear). Thanks for your suggestions! I ended up omitting it but just talked about getting over negative feelings
Hell no don’t bring it up. It does don’t make you look good.