Self-harm - Katie's page

This page has been written by Katie, age 15 – who has experienced self-harm herself. If you self-harm, break the silence and talk to someone today. Your problems won’t disappear into thin air, but it’s a start. Talking it over with someone you trust can really help.

Katie says: “Self-harm is where someone deliberately hurts themselves. It is thought to be a reflection of the hurt they feel inside. It’s nothing to be ashamed of – but it is something that needs to be sorted out as soon as possible. Cutting, burning, bruising, biting and pinching are among the most common forms of self-harm. Sometimes it involves pulling out hair or skin scratching.

Self-harm is much more common than people think... I hope that info like this will help us take another step towards better
understanding."

Everything is getting on top of you... you don’t know what to do... when will it end? The hurt and the pain just won’t go away and you feel like you’re falling into a never-ending hole... but there are things you can do to help yourself...

Katie’s tips
These are some of the things that helped me get through those dark days:

• Speak to someone you trust. A friend, teacher, parent or other family member – as long as it’s someone you trust and feel comfortable talking to
  
• Your doctor can put you in touch with any extra help you need
  
• Your school may have a special counselling service that holds individual or group sessions for people who self harm. This
  can be really helpful
  
• If you do feel the urge to self harm, find something to do. For me, keeping busy was the best way to take my mind off things, and then when the time is right you can talk to someone and try to deal with your problems
  
• If some people give you a hard time try not to let it get to you. I know it’s easier said than done, but you just need to remember that if they’re saying nasty things they’ve probably got issues of their own and don’t understand. Stick with supportive friends. You need to focus on YOU right now
  
• Finally, just remember that you can’t climb a mountain in a day. Things might get worse before they get better, but hang on in there and things can start going your way. You can get through this.

I used to find it hard to talk about. I would often come close to saying something about it, but then I’d pull back from it at the very last second. In the end, it was thanks to a good friend that my secret came out. I owe so much to her – thank you. Katie.

Other places to get help:
Your doctor will be able to link you into the help and support you need.
AICH have trained counsellors – call them direct for: Huntingdon 01480 435061 Monday to Friday 10am-8pm email: aich@aich.org.uk website: www.aich.org.uk
Timestop have trained counsellors – call them direct: for Peterborough: 01733 891891 for Fenland: 01733 349932 www.theymca.org.uk
Centre 33 have trained counsellors – call them direct: for Cambridge City, South & East 01223 316488 email: help@centre33.org.uk
Childline 0800 11 11
Bristol Crisis Centre helpline 0117 925 1119 (girls and women) for general telephone counselling Friday and Saturday 9pm-12.30am, and Sunday 6pm-9pm.
CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) Helpline 0800 58 58 58 (boys and young men) 5pm-3am, 7 days a week.
More info on www.selfharm.org.uk and www.nshn.co.uk