Teen Shares Self-Injury Secret

Tracy Smith Talks To A Teen Who Overcame The Problem

(CBS)  Alicia is not alone. In a study of more than 2,800 college students published this week in Pediatrics magazine, a little more than one in six reported having self-injured.

And of those who self-injured, nearly 40 percent said that nobody knew about their behavior.

Alicia tried to keep her cutting a secret, but her parents knew something wasn't right.

Her mom took it upon herself to investigate, trying to find out what was wrong.

The Moores found Alicia's online diary, and pages of bloodstained poetry with chilling, macabre lines. "Can't take the anger, can't take the pain. Must relieve the only way I can. Cut. Cut. Cut," she had written.

"It was just hard. You want so much for your kids," Alicia's mom tearfully explains. "To have 'em go through something you have no control over is really hard."

The Moore family sought help from Amy Simpkins, a social worker with Catholic Charities. To keep Alicia safe, Amy suggested, she started taking out aggression on objects, like her desk, instead of herself.

After years of working with Amy and her family, and getting on antidepressants, Alicia slowly overcame her negative image of herself and stopped cutting and began to move on.

Today, the scars on her skin are barely visible and the internal scars are fading, too.

"She's a great young lady. And I think she's finally starting to realize that," says her mom.

"She said to me, 'You know, it's OK bein' a bright girl,'" Alicia's dad remembers.

"I don't think that I'll ever fully be able to say I'm completely done with it," Alicia says. "It's completely over. But I'm at a point right now where I'm stable. I'm happy. I can function. So I'm pretty sure that this is where I'm gonna be."

The major warning sign for parents seems obvious, but is often missed: unexpected cuts and injuries.

If you see them, experts say it's best to confront your child about it — it's better to ask and be wrong than not ask at all.