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Self
injury affects thousands of people across the UK.
People
with a history of self-harm deliberately inflict injury upon themselves,
using a variety of methods, including cuttting or burning themselves
or taking an overdose.
The
illness is often referred to as the 'secret shame' because many
people hurt themselves secretly for some time before they ask for
help, often because of fear and shame.
A
personal battle
Katie
Foulser, has battled against self harm since her early teens and
founded The Self Harm Alliance to provide a valuable resource for
other sufferers.
 I self harmed because I couldn't cope
with things I'd been through. I'd been bullied at school and
had problems at home with my parents and I'd also suffered a
rape. I had all of these feelings inside of me and no way of
expressing them. |
| Katie
Foulsner |
She
said: "I
set the Self Harm Alliance up because I used to self harm myself
in the past and I was met with a lot of misunderstanding and not
a lot of support. I felt that when I recovered I wanted to do something
to improve the situation.
"It's
predominately teenagers that self harm and the largest number of
people that do it are young women but it does affect people of all
ages and all genders."
A
common problem
According
to experts the problem is more common than most people think and
is linked to feelings of low self-esteem.
Katie
explained, "To begin with I was scratching myself but overtime
it developed into cutting myself and taking overdoses.
"I
self harmed because I couldn't cope with things I'd been through.
I'd been bullied at school and had problems at home with my parents
and I'd also suffered a rape. I had all of these feelings inside
of me and no way of expressing them.
"The
self harm became a way of me expressing it to myself and acknowledging
there was a problem when nobody else was."
For
two years Katie self harmed and it was only when she sought the
help of her GP that her parents became aware of the problem.
"My
parents were shocked when they first found out I was self harming
because they didn't know anything was wrong at all and then to be
told there was something wrong and I'd actually gone to find help
alone was quite difficult for them. They felt hurt and disappointed
that they didn't know what to do or how to help.
"After
seeing my GP I went into hospital a few times and was put onto medication
which didn't really help. It actually seemed to make the self harm
worse because I was having to confront the things that were bothering
me.
"I
then got private counselling and that really helped me because it
enabled me to talk about things that had been bothering me and work
through all my issues."
Media
attention
Self
harm has recently been highlighted in such teen soaps as Hollyoaks,
and Katie believes only positive media attention helps.
"If
it's good media coverage and it reaches out to people that haven't
heard of self harm before or haven't sought help it can make them
feel less alone, and help them access the support they need.
"Bad
media coverage can be quite detrimental and doesn't help people
who self injure themselves."
| The
founding idea of the website is that it is for people who self
harm and also for their family and friends. |
| Katie
Foulsner |
Following
her self harm experience Katie founded the Self Harm Alliance in
order to help others in a similar situation.
The
website is a national survivor led voluntary group which supports
people affected by self-harm.
Katie
said, "The founding idea of the website is that it is for people
who self harm and also for their family and friends.
"It
took quite a long time to set up as I didn't know anything about
charities so it was a long process. We are quite well established
now but we are always developing our services and enhancing what
we provide.
"We
get a lot of queries via the website from self harmers but also
their friends and families. This is because they don't know what
to do, they feel lost and don't have enough information. They often
feel confused about why their child or family member would self
harm."
Extra
support
Running
in conjunction with the Self Harm Alliance Katie also offers a telephone
helpline, and postal and email support.
The
helpline runs every Tuesday and Sunday between 6pm and 7pm, and
every Thursday between 11am and 1pm.
Katie
is now fully recovered and said, "I'll never do it again as
I've learnt other ways of coping, and I've dealt with all the things
that caused me to do it in the first place.
"Hopefully
I can use that and the Self Harm Alliance to help other people."
Article
by Nat Hall
Your
comments:
Kaylie
self harm is an addiction. Treat it like one, not something that's
in the mind or attention seeking.
jim
as a father with a 15 year old daughter that has taken an overdose
and is now in hospital, how am i to cope with all thats happend.
James
Hi Nikita. I'm sorry to hear that you self-harm - you're not alone.
Some good places to look for help are listed in the 'Internet Links'
section of this website. Check them out. They can help you get free
advice and won't judge you. The Samaritans and Childline, in particular,
offer their services round the clock, 7 days a week. Best of luck.
Nakita
Um.... I think if you cut you should get help because i cut and
i need help about it so just try and help yourself and do whats
rite.
cassandra
i think that cutting is a way of relievingoneself from pain but
she or he should lok for help and not be classified as a "mentally
sick" person
Chris
as a father of a girl who use to self harm my message to all other
parents is no matter what keep telling them simply that you love
them and always will
Sara
Anyone who self harms shouldn't be ashamed and should seek help.
It really helps to talk about it and work through your issues.
|
Katie Foulser, from Cheltenham, is the founder of The Self Harm
Alliance.
