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Self-harming, getting help Self-harmWhat is it? People who self-harm, deliberately injure themselves, mostly do so as a way of coping with painful and difficult feelings. It allows the harmers to create a physical manifestation of their anger or sadness, either to deal with it or to punish themselves. They are not usually trying to commit suicide, but are 100 times more likely than average to eventually kill themselves. A recent report has shown that the rate of self-harm in the UK has increased over the past decade and is reported to be among the highest in Europe. More than 24,000 teenagers annually are being admitted to hospital after deliberately harming themselves. Most have taken overdoses or cut themselves. It is thought that up to 1 in 10 young people have deliberately harmed themselves but it could be many more as often the young person is treated at home or their injuries are not recognized as self harm. Why do they do it? There are a whole range of causes including low self-esteem, abuse, stress, anger, distress, incest, rape, bullying, a death in the family, work pressures, money trouble, depression and relationship problems. It becomes habitual and addictive, the vast majority of self-harmers do not do it for attention, most self-harm takes place in private and is kept secret from others. Instead of expressing their feelings openly, people who self-harm take things out on their bodies, and often say it makes them feel more in control of certain situations and feelings. Are their symptoms picked up? When self-harmers turn up in hospital for the first time they are often not recognized as self-harmers and although their physical injuries are dealt with the mental problems aren’t. Once they have been to the hospital or doctors once then below are some of the indicators they use in diagnosing self-harm when the person presents for a second time.
So how do you stop doing it? The easy thing to say is to “pull yourself together and just stop”. That, of course, is the one thing you’re finding very difficult to do. For some people self-harm can be as difficult to stop as trying to give up heroin, or sorting out an eating or obsessive-compulsive disorder. Because it can be very difficult to stop hurting yourself you may want to try to use a displacement activity to take your mind off what you want to do. Below are some suggestions: Stay in a public place Be with safe and supportive people Call a friend Write in a journal/diary Watch a funny film Go for a drive/walk/bike ride Do relaxation exercises Do deep breathing Listen to music Read a good book Tidy your room, Clean the bathroom, kitchen Take a bubble bath Go shopping Try wearing an elastic band around one wrist and when the urge to harm is strong, snap it lightly Hold ice in your hand (sounds strange, but it works) With a washable red marker, make marks where you want to hurt yourself. This sometimes helps, especially if you like to see the blood. Most importantly, get rid of anything you could hurt yourself with. If you are harming your self and want help and advise locally then you can get in touch with Mancroft Advice Project on Telephone 0800 917 5917 or check out their website for contact details click here The websites below have more information and links to other organizations that you may want to contact. The BBC sites are news but also have links to other sites giving information about self-harm BBC site another BBC site Samaritans website An American site but has some interesting ideas about avoiding the problems Click here for a huge site that has information and advice for suffers, professionals, relatives and friends. A really fantastic resource. How can you help? If you have friends who are deliberately injuring themselves they need help and understanding. You shouldn’t tell them they’re stupid, selfish, insane, or attention-seekers. They may have been self-harming for years and may be on the point of seeking help and a bad time from you could damage their heads and stop them moving forward. If you are the person they start talking to you will need to think about how to move them forward so they can seek professional help. As an alternative to hurting themselves self-harmers can often get great benefit from confidential counseling or learning better ways to cope with stress. Below are some websites they can look or numbers they can call for more help and advice. National Self Harm Network Saneline Offers practical information, crisis care and emotional support to anybody affected by mental health problems. The service is open from 12 noon until 2am. Tel: 0845 767 8000 TheSite Talk to other people about how self-harm affects you and/or your loved ones. |
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Last updated & checked:
22/03/2006 |
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