Advice on Self-Harm From a Community Psychiatric Nurse

Community Psychiatric Nurse, Team Leader – Georgina Cadby-Fisher, who has been working in mental health for 3 years has written an advice piece on how to spot the signs and provide support to somebody who is self-harming.

What is self-harm?

So what do we mean by Self-harm? Self-harm is when you hurt yourself as a way of dealing with very difficult feelings, painful memories or overwhelming situations and experiences that feel out of control. It can be the thing people turn to when they feel they have no other option.

Signs of potential self-harm:

There are not always obvious signs that somebody close to you may have begun self harming. But there are some signs you can look out for:

• Unexplained cuts, bruises or burns
• Wearing more clothing than usual to cover any evidence of self harm
• Changes in eating or becoming secretive/obsessive about eating
• Unusual weight loss or weight gain

So why do people self-harm?

There are many reasons people self-harm, such as being bullied, stress, bereavement, experiencing a form of abuse whether that’s sexual, physical or emotional.

• If people are angry, self-harming can be a form of release of pent up anger or emotion
• Self-harm can be a form of control for people if they feel they have no control over other aspects of their life
• It can be for psychological reasons such as hearing voices that tell them to do it

Advice for people living with somebody that self-harms

Living with somebody or watching people close to you self harm can be difficult and distressing but there are things you can do to help:

• Listen to them in a judgement free way and let them know that you care about them
• Encourage them to access support such as: Samaritans or Mind
• Make sure you look after yourself too and seek help if you need it from places such as: National Self Harm Networks Forums or Young Minds Parent Helpline