Self harm is when someone hurts or damages themselves on purpose. Self harm can affect anyone. Young people often use self harm to cope with difficult thoughts or feelings, but there are lots of different reasons that people start.

Some young people start self harming after something’s happened, like being bullied or abused. Others may start self harming because of things like pressure at school. Sometimes, you might not even know why you started.

Some people see self harm as the only way to cope or take control. But that’s not true.

If you or someone you love is self harming, our chatbot can help and put you in touch with someone who cares.

Many young people have said that talking about it is one of the easiest ways to stop self harming. Talking is important because it means that you don’t have to deal with everything on your own. However, it’s not always easy. Often, it’s hard to know why you’re self harming and explaining it to someone else can feel even harder. You’re probably wondering, ‘So how can you tell someone about it?’

Is there someone in your life that you feel comfortable talking to?

If you feel that you can trust them, you could open up to them. This could be your parents, carers, friends, your teacher or an adult you trust. It’s really important that you seek help but if you have no one you can turn to, you can talk to us.

There are also many other services who can help here.