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 a person hurts or inflicts pain on themselves on purpose.
How do people self-harm?
People can self-harm in many different ways. Sometimes at first people don’t realise that they are self-harming. Self-harm may include scratching or cutting, hair pulling or using items to inflict pain such as pens, staples, paperclips.
Why do people self-harm?
* Self-harming is a coping strategy and not the same as someone wanting to take their own life. Click here. Clicking on the link will take you to the Papyrus Prevention of Young Suicide pageWhen do people self-harm?
People can self-harm at all times of the day or night, usually after feeling an ‘urge’ to self-harm. Most will self-harm in privacy or without other people’s knowledge and will usually have a set way or routine of how they self-harm. Self-harming brings only temporary relief and the cause of the distress is unlikely to have gone away afterwards. Once a person has started to depend on self-harm it can take a long time to stop.
Coping with
During intense urges to hurt yourself, it can be hard to imagine that it’s possible to do anything else. But there are steps you can take to help you make other choices.
Click on the buttons below to find techniques may help you cope.
Finding help
Who can I 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
Useful apps and tools
Helpful websites
Useful documents
Useful apps and tools
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
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.
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.
