March the 1st is Self-Injury/Harm Awareness Day, and it is a day for us all to recognise. Make a plan, set a goal and start helping to Make a Change.
At Achieve together, we support a great number of people that, for a great number of reasons, struggle to process, respond to or even recognise their emotions.
Like us all, the people we support are exposed to life events and stressful situations which can make managing their emotions a difficult task. For some, communicating those emotions can present an even bigger barrier.
The reasons why people self-harm can vary considerably and are influenced by different factors. For some, self-harm might be a way to communicate pain, emotions can might be overwhelming and unmanageable and physical pain might be easier to deal with than emotional pain. There is also a chemical component to self-harm. The act itself can influence the release endorphins which can provide a sense of relief.
But there are other ways to kick start the release of endorphins and there are other ways of managing or coping with emotions.
Whilst we recognise that self-harm might serve a purpose, we want to advocate making changes. From the small to the big, it’s all about finding alternatives ways to cope or opportunities that help distract people from thoughts of self-harm.
There is no one-size fits all approach and moving away from what has become familiar isn’t always easy. It takes time, courage and effort to make change. Collectively, we want to try and help making changes and the choice to change, easier.
Check out some helpful resources here:
