I cut myself how do i tell someone

Early intervention can minimise damage caused by self-harm and decrease your risk of future episodes. If you can, find supportive people who you feel comfortable with who you can talk to and will listen without judgement. If you have a friend or a family member you can trust, reach out to them to help you through this challenge. If you think someone you care for is engaging in self-harm, it is important that you offer them support and show them that you care about their wellbeing. Encourage them to get professional help and continue the conversation about their mental health by checking in with them to see how they are going.

If you need support, call Lifeline on 13 11 If you think you or another person's safety is at risk, call triple zero immediately. Someone self-harms and seeks medical assistance will be referred by their doctor to a psychologist who specialises in self-harm. A psychologist or mental health professional can help you to find the cause or trigger for your self-harm behaviour.

They can also provide management tools to help you cope with any challenging thoughts and difficult feelings. In many cases, people who self-harm also suffer from a mental health disorder. A psychologist can assess whether there are any underlying mental health conditions. Psychologists can provide management strategies and treatments that can help you feel better. There are different approaches to manage self-harm and mental illness. They include the following:.

You may need treatment from a doctor for physical injuries after a self-harm episode. In severe cases, you may be required to go to the emergency department. Techniques that work as distractions from self-harm help replace a very dangerous activity with a constructive or unharmful activity. Some of these techniques may feel uncomfortable or hurt, but they are not harmful or dangerous. Examples of distraction techniques include: holding ice cubes in your hands keeping a rubber band on your wrist — you can snap it against your wrist whenever you feel you need to drawing red lines in pen on your body, where you would otherwise cut yourself using exercise to release pressure and stress writing, drawing or scribbling on paper with a red pen doing meditation, such as practising relaxation or breathing techniques focusing your attention on something simple for some time — this may help your negative thoughts pass talking with someone you trust You may want to copy this list of distraction techniques onto a piece of paper or keep it on your phone, so you have it when you need it.

Self-harming behaviour has very serious complications, such as an increased risk of serious physical harm or accidental suicide. These complications can occur when a person causes more damage than they intended. Sometimes people who self-harm become suicidal or feel confined to a cycle of hopelessness, as self-harm is not a helpful way to deal with distressing emotions.

Other potential complications of self-harm include long-term scarring, infection, brain injury or organ damage. While it is very important to be there for your loved one, it is a lot to manage on your own.

It is important to share this information with a mental health professional as soon as possible. Reassure your loved one that you have their best interests in mind, you care about them and your intentions are to keep them safe. If you or someone you know are in immediate danger call triple zero immediately or go to the hospital emergency department. You can access support and more information via the following websites and helplines. It is important you reach out if you need to talk to someone:.

If you would like to learn how to support people struggling with the challenges of self-harm and mental illness, consider doing a Mental Health First Aid course. Prefer to read in languages other than English? The Transcultural Mental Health Centre has mental health resources in other languages. Learn more here about the development and quality assurance of healthdirect content.

To help identify triggers, make a note of the situation that leads to cutting in a journal. Review this regularly and identify recurring triggers. A person can then work to reduce those triggers and feel more prepared to manage the urge to cut using some of the strategies above. Once a person has identified their triggers, they can plan how to resist the urge when it happens. Writing this plan down can help. Keep this plan handy for when the urge to cut arises.

Without a written plan, it is easy to feel overwhelmed or forget tactics that may help. Cutting and other forms of self-harm are linked with anxiety , depression , and other mental health conditions.

If a person who cuts has an underlying mental health condition, receiving treatment will help prevent self-harm in the long term. Doctors and healthcare professionals can often treat anxiety and depression with a combination of medication and talk therapy. A recent study found that between 6. The figure was higher for girls of the same age, with between Despite causing injury, cutting offers some people temporary relief from emotional pain or numbness.

Other people who cut say that they do so because they feel the need to punish themselves. The doctor can help a person find other ways to manage their emotional health. Talk therapy may help with learning how to manage emotions in a safe, sustainable way. In the event of an emergency, call emergency services. Cutting is a type of self-harm that some people use to manage negative feelings. The temporary sense of relief it may provide can make it difficult to give up the behavior.

The methods explored in this article may help a person avoid cutting. Seeking support from a doctor is also important. Every person who cuts will find a different combination of coping strategies effective. Identifying cutting triggers is essential and can help a person develop a self-management plan and eventually stop cutting.

Acute stress disorder ASD is a short-term condition that can develop after a person experiences a traumatic event. Its symptoms are similar to those…. Bipolar disorder and schizophrenia have some similarities, but there are key differences. Diagnosis and treatment options vary.

Here, learn more about…. Emotional exhaustion can arise after a period of excessive stress. Read More. Registered Company: Legal Information. All Rights Reserved. Report an issue. How to tell someone you self harm. Making the decision to tell someone is a positive step and is something you will want to do when the time is right for you. Written by spunout. Factsheet Fact checked by experts and reviewed by young people. How to open up to someone about self harm? Try to be honest If you want to tell someone about self harming be prepared that they will probably ask you some questions about it, such as why you self harm and how long you have been doing it for.

Choosing how to tell someone you self harm When you are ready to tell someone you self harm, choose to do it in a way that suits you. Writing down what you want to tell someone If you want to tell someone you self harm but do not think you can say it out loud, writing it down may is a good way to express yourself to others. Opening up to someone you do not know If you want to speak to someone about self harming but are not ready to speak about it to someone you know, there are other supports available that you can speak to.

Landline: 01 Mobile: Email: [email protected] Feeling overwhelmed or want to talk to someone right now? Related articles. Self Harm. Living with your self harm scars. Although you may not love your scars, accepting and even embracing them is possible.