Short messages on Mental health, stress and anxiety issues from Respect Yourself, the guidance site for young people to help make good decisions in life.
Some signs indicating self-harming behaviour may include: unexplained cuts, bruises or burns; being fully covered up even when hot; depression, low mood or low self-esteem, and being secretive about eating.
Self-harm is when somebody intentionally damages or injures their body. It is a way of expressing deep emotional feelings such as low self-esteem, or a way of coping with traumatic events, such as the death of a loved one.
Try to be aware of what effect your thoughts have on you. Spend less time thinking about things that make you unhappy and focus more time on thinking about things that make you happy.
If something bad happens or you have an argument early in the day, don’t write the whole day off as a ‘bad’ day and expect that whatever else can go wrong, will. Situations later are often unrelated; treat each situation individually and find the good in each one.
Forgiveness is letting go of the pain and accepting what has happened, because it will not change. Forgiveness is dismissing the blame. Choices were made that caused the hurt; we each could have chosen differently, but we didn’t. Forgiveness is looking at the pain, learning the lessons it has produced, and understanding what we have learned.
If you are unsure or worried about the safety of a child, young person or vulnerable adult, please contact your local Police or Social Work Services or telephone the National Child Protection Helpline 0800 022 3222.
It is okay to ask for help with your personal issues. Everyone is human, and no-one is expecting you to be a superstar in coping with something you feel you can’t or don’t know how to overcome on your own.
Forgiveness does not mean that you let anyone off the hook, it means that your present happiness is more important than your past suffering. Forgiveness does not mean that you condone the hurtful things done to you, it means that you reclaim your right to run your own life.
Samaritans provides confidential emotional support 24/7 to those experiencing despair, distress or suicidal feelings.
When caring for someone with an eating disorder, remember the top tips: learn the facts (the more you know, the more you can help), break the silence (give them that vital opportunity to open up), early intervention is best (get them specialist help as soon as possible), take care of yourself (you need your own support) and recovery is always possible (you can help them beat their eating disorder).