Statisitcs show that one in ten young people self-harm. Here you can find out:

• What is self-harm?
• What can lead to self-harm?
• How can you help yourself or someone you know to stop?

What Is Self-Harm?

When people deliberately hurt themselves (but are not aiming to commit suicide) it is known as self-harm or self-injury.

Self-harm is about coping and surviving. People who do it see injuring themselves as the only thing that helps them deal with their feelings. If a person doesn’t get help they may end up having thoughts about suicide, and continually injuring yourself (especially if wounds become infected) can lead to death.

What Can Lead To Self-Harm?

Self-harm is a way of coping with problems, rather than being a specific problem itself. It can be set off by a number of different triggers, for example:

• Bullying
• Abuse
• Family problems
• Divorce
• Going into care
• Bereavement
• Low self-esteem
• Traumatic events
• Difficulty expressing and dealing with feelings
• Difficulty communicating
• Lack of support for dealing with problems

Why Do It?

Self-harm can often be an expression of anger or frustration at something you can’t control. People who self-harm find that hurting themselves gives a release and something they can control. Someone who self-harms may still feel guilty afterwards as they know they shouldn’t do it.

To people who harm themselves physically, the pain can feel more real than feeling emotionally harmed. It is generally used as a coping mechanism and after a while it can become an addiction.

What Sort Of Treatment Can Help?

There are a variety of different ways of helping and treating people who self-harm. These include counselling, psychotherapy, cognitive behavioural therapy, medication and support groups.

For more information call Young Scot InfoLine on 0808 801 0338 (Mon to Fri 10am - 6pm). It's free to call from landlines and mobiles.

Can You Help Yourself?

• Tell someone when you feel like self-harming, this could be the Samaritans or Breathing Space
• Keep a diary-you could try writing down how you feel then ripping the paper up
• Do something physical to help release the frustration
• Try and delay the urge to harm for another few minutes, try to do something else to distract yourself

It can be very hard to tell family and friends as they often do not understand why they you are doing it and get angry with you. However, if you can help your family and friends to understand why you do it (maybe showing them a leaflet or a website) then they may find it easier to support you in recovering.

More...

Breathing Space is there for you to talk to if you are feeling the urge to self-harm. Phone 0800 83 85 87 (Monday to Thursday 6pm - 2am, Friday 6pm through to Monday 6am) or go to their website. It's a free and confidential service.

The Site.org has a step by step guide to recovery, as well as stories from people who have experienced it themselves.