Deliberate self harm - advice for young people

If you or someone you know is self-harming, there are often signs to suggest you or they might need help .

• Withdrawal from others and everyday life
• Feeling low in mood, lacking in motivation/ not wanting to do stuff anymore
• Changes in mood, feeling more anxious than usual
• Thinking about suicide, or talk about self-harm
• Hiding things to use to self-harm
• Feeling hopeless
• Changes in eating/sleeping habits
• Risk taking behaviour (substance misuse, unprotected sexual acts), deliberately not following advice to manage a health condition e.g. missing medication/insulin etc NOTE – not due to anxiety or memory etc
• Unexplained cuts, bruises or marks
• Covering up all the time, even in warm weather
• Lacking energy

If you have been self-harming, or are experiencing thoughts of wanting to hurt yourself, it is very important that you seek help.

• Tell someone you can trust about this. This could be a parent, teacher or close friend. Sometimes the act of sharing can help to begin conversations about other things which are driving the urge to harm yourself.
• If you would prefer to tell someone you don’t know, there are links to helpful phone numbers and websites at the end. These phone lines offer anonymous, confidential support from staff trained to help.
• Let the person know what you feel comfortable talking about, or what you think you’d want them to do to help. They may suggest speaking to a GP, or if you are very worried, calling 111 for further advice.
• If you have recently cut or harmed yourself, it is really important that you seek medical care. Wounds will need to be treated to avoid infection. Medical staff at local A&E and minor injuries are trained to support young people who have self-harmed, and can also refer you to mental health clinicians for further input if needed.