Self harm
Information
Here you’ll find answers to some common questions concerning self harming.
Select the underlined questions below to see more.
What is self-harm?
How do people self-harm?
Why do people self-harm?
When do people self-harm?
What is self-harm?
Self-harm is when people hurt or inflict pain on themselves on purpose.
How do people self-harm?
People can self-harm in many different ways. Sometimes at first some people don’t realise that they are self-harming. At times self-harm may include scratching or cutting, hitting, it can be picking skin, pulling hair, biting themselves, or using items on their skin to inflict pain, such as pens, staples, paperclips or using items to burn them self.
Why do people self-harm?
People self-harm for a variety of reasons. Here are a few:
* Self-harming is a coping strategy and not the same as someone wanting to take their own life. Click here. By clicking on the link you will be directed to the Papyrus Prevention of Young Suicide page.
When do people self-harm?
People can self-harm at all times of the day, this is usually after the person feels an ‘urge’ to self-harm. Although most will self-harm in privacy or will do it without other people’s knowledge and will usually have a set way or routine about how they self-harm. Self-harming brings only temporary relief and the cause of their distress is unlikely to have gone away after harming themselves. Once young people have started to depend on self-harm it can take a long time to stop.
Coping with
During intense urges to hurt themselves, it can be hard to imagine that it’s possible to do anything else. But there are steps to help make other choices over self harming
The following buttons are self-help suggestions for young people
Finding help
Who can they talk to?
- Friends
- Family
- Someone you trust at school
- Youth worker
- Health professional (GP; Counsellor Nurse)
- Charities and Helplines
Select the underlined topics below to view what resources are available.
Useful documents
Helpful websites
Getting more help
If you haven’t already found the help you’re looking for, you can find additional information and services which are more interactive here.
I would like to make a referral to Mental Health Services by completing the online referral form
Select the underlined topics below to view what resources are available.
Help lines
Local services
National support organisations
Help lines
Local services
…in and around North Staffordshire
National support organisations
By having a band around your wrist, when you get the urge to self-harm, they can ping the band or bobble onto their wrist to help stop the urge.
Hugging releases many soothing hormones which will help you feel better. You can hug a person, your pet or a cuddly toy; this can help you feel a little better.