This Friday, 1st March 2024, is Self-Harm Awareness Day in the UK, aimed at improving understanding of this sensitive and often misunderstood topic.
Run by Harmless, the national centre of excellence for self-harm and suicide prevention, the awareness campaign, sometimes known as Self-Injury Awareness Day, provides “an opportunity for everyone across the country to speak with one voice to raise awareness around what is often a very misunderstood topic.”
Harmless works with charity and corporate partners and also encourages individuals and organisations from outside of the sector to get involved in Self Harm Awareness Day and spread the message as widely as possible, opening up the conversation on social media using the hashtag #SelfHarmAwarenessDay.
The organisation provides media packs which can be downloaded from their website and feature posters, graphics, factsheets and suggested social media posts to help people get involved in the day.
Harmless focuses on providing support, information, training and consultancy about self-harm to individuals who self-harm, their friends, families and professionals throughout the year. Their approach promotes health and recovery, focusing on reducing isolation and distress and increasing awareness and skill in intervention.
Self-harm still exists ‘in the shadows’
Last year, a report from NHS England revealed that almost 4 in 10 young people (36.8%) have tried to harm themselves.
The Mental Health of Children and Young People in England 2023 report, found that children and young people with a probable mental health disorder were significantly more likely to try to harm themselves (69.5%) compared with those unlikely to have a mental disorder (21.3%).
Self-harm has also been shown to be an important risk factor for subsequent suicide attempts. Previous studies have found that 1 in 7 adults who die by suicide have been treated for self-harm in the preceding year (Olfsen et al, 2017, 2018).
Teenage mental health charity Stem4 are participating in Self-Harm Awareness Day and are particularly keen to dispel the myth that self-harm is just attention seeking.
The charity says: “Sadly, this damaging myth keeps self-harm in the shadows, stopping young people from seeking help and significant adults in their lives from knowing how to reach out and support them.”
Stem4 is using the hashtag #FromShadowsToSupport to raise awareness of this and is calling for society to “Stop stigmatising pain.”
They want to open up the conversation about self-harm “so that young people and those who care for them can access help in order to prevent self-harming behaviours.”
They are offering a social media pack to help organisations and individuals join them in raising awareness and they provide further information, advice and guidance about self-harm on their website.
Helpful apps to tackle self-harm
The charity is also asking people to donate £5 and nominate 5 other people to do the same for Self-Harm Awareness Day. The money will be used for essential maintenance of their mental health app, Calm Harm.
Launched in 2015, the Calm Harm app has now been downloaded over 3 million times.
Developed by a leading clinician, it is an evidence-based tool that helps young people to resist the urge to self-harm. It is designed to plug the gap in mental health support for young people.
Dr Nihara Krause MBE, a Consultant Clinical Psychologist, developed the app in collaboration with young people. She used strategies from Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) to help users learn to identify and manage their ‘emotional mind’ as well as teach impulse control, emotional regulation and how to track the underlying triggers to harmful urges.
Stem4 also offers Combined Minds, an app to help parents and carers who are supporting a young person with a mental health problem, including self-harm.
The charity says that Calm Harm reduced 107,100 urges to self-harm last year, but acknowledges that the apps, while a useful tool to help young people reduce self-harming behaviours, “are not a substitute for the assessment and individualised treatment by a health / mental health professional.”
Support and training for self-harming behaviours
Any individual who is struggling with self-harm or who knows someone who is struggling with this issue is advised to speak to a doctor. People can also contact free and confidential charity helplines for immediate support:
- Children and young people can call Childline on 0800 1111
- Adults can contact the Samaritans on 116 123
- Anyone can contact NHS 111 for support
First Response Training (FRT) is a leading national training provider delivering courses in subjects such as health and safety, first aid, fire safety, manual handling, food safety, mental health, health and social care, safeguarding and more.
They work with a large number of early years and childcare providers, as well as schools, colleges, and children’s services.
Their courses include Understanding Mental Health, Youth Mental Health First Aid, Anxiety Awareness, Self-Harm Awareness and Suicide Awareness.
A trainer from FRT says:
“Although we are getting much better at talking about our mental health, self-harm can still be seen as a taboo subject for many, and it is widely misunderstood.
“But the reality is that it affects a large number of children, young people and adults and so it’s important to have more awareness and understanding of it and to open up the conversation to ensure people can access help and support when they need it most, reduce self-harming behaviours and reduce the risk of suicide.
“Self-harm awareness day provides the perfect opportunity to look at how you can become better informed and learn how to offer help and support for those struggling with self-harming behaviours.”
For more information on the training that FRT can provide, please call them today on freephone 0800 310 2300 or send an e-mail to info@firstresponsetraining.com.