Trigger Warning – Self Injury/self-harm.
Today is Self-Injury Awareness Day.
This is a day to reach out to people who do self-harm as well as also educate those who do not. Raising awareness on this topic is very important, as it will lead to more understanding on what it is, why it happens, more empathy towards those who are going through it and we can remove any judgement people might have about it. Through this we can make sure less and less people are suffering alone and in silence.
Everyone deserves to be heard and have help available to them.
So what exactly is Self-harm?
Self-harm is when someone uses hurting themselves to try and deal with feelings they are struggling to cope with, hard situations/experiences or traumatic memories. In some cases, people use it as a form of punishment for their own feelings and experiences as well as also to express their suicidal thoughts without taking their own life. There are many different reasons as to why someone why may do it, and every one of them is valid. As a community we should never make people feel what they are going through is small or compare it to what other people going through.
Self-harm is a reaction to something painful an individual is going though, so together we should do what we can to help them get through it.
People of all ages self-harm.
According to research done by Young Minds, almost half of 17-19 year-olds who have a diagnosable mental health disorder has self-harmed or attempted suicide at some point. For women this is said to have risen to 52%.
When it comes to self-harm it is often spoken about as if it is a way “seeking attention”. However, this creates judgement and can make people who are suffering feel more alone. Instead it is important if you know someone who is self-harming to offer them support and help them see the other alternatives available for help.
Let’s remove any judgement from mental health, and instead support the people around us.
Self-harm can be a coping mechanism for people experiencing mental health problems.
If you are experiencing mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety, Burton and District Mind are here for you.
We can help you to manage your mental health through counselling and other projects, which in turn may help to reduce the need to self-harm.
We understand that can be scary and a massive step to pick up the phone, but we believe you can you do it!
Mind’s website also has information on self- harm:
https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/self-harm/treatment-and-support/
To help spread awareness of this day let’s use the #SIAD across our social media.
Today we can educate about and raise awareness for something that is affecting more and more of our community.