Ask Sam

Hi there,

Many people use self-harm as a way of coping with their feelings. It can be a way of expressing the pain they feel on the inside on the outside of their body.

You’ve recognised that stress sometimes makes you want to self-harm, and you describe things at home and school that you are finding hard. I’m wondering if you’ve spoken to anyone like a family member or teacher to explain how you’re feeling. Talking to them about your feelings can be difficult, but we have some tips on our asking an adult for help page. 

Some people find that writing things down in a diary can help, too. Other distractions that people find helpful are listening to music, drawing, exercise, talking to friends. You might want to look at our self-harming coping techniques page and our message boards to see how other young people are coping.

Self-harm can happen in different ways. It’s not just cutting the skin. But whatever you do when you self-harm, it’s important to keep yourself safe. You can do this by cleaning your wounds. Doing this reduces the risk of the wound becoming infected. It’s also important to know that if you ever need emergency help at any time or if you cut deeper than usual or you are worried about bleeding, you can call 999 for an ambulance. Sometimes it can be important to get help quickly.

Remember that you can always talk to a ChildLine counsellor, who can listen and support you and help you to look at other ways of coping.

Take care for now,
Sam