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No Secrets was first
started in October
Supporting those
2007, by Kerri and her affected by self injury
mum Maureen. Their aim
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people struggling with self-injury, as well as

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their carers and loved ones.
The self-injury support group runs every week
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in the Millennium Drop-in Lounge on
Secrets
What is self-injury?
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Bickerstaffe Street (6-8pm). s ..
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For more info on the St Helens group contact Tina on
Tel: 07863 736647 Information for service users,
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Email: tina.sthelens@gmail.com carers & professionals

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No For more info on the Wigan group contact Kerri on

Tel: 07846 889300
Secrets Email: kerri86@gmail.com
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www.nosecrets.moonfruit.com
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Tel : 07863 736647 (St Helens)

07846 889300 (Wigan)
 WHAT IS SELF-INJURY?
Self-injury the act of deliberately harming your
own body, such as cutting or burning. It is not
meant as a suicide attempt as some people
think. It is also not seen as being "socially
acceptable" like, for instance, tattooing is.
Self-injury can may well bring instant but
short-lasting relief from intense emotions, such
as anger, sadness or feeling "numb". It also
leads to more negative feelings like shame,
guilt and anger. This makes it a vicious cycle.
There are many different terms used to
describe
self-injury, some of which include, self-harm,
deliberate self-harm, self-mutilation and
parasuicide. Self-injury is NOT attention
seeking.
People self-injure in different ways, and it is not
restricted to "cutting" as many people think.
Other forms of injury can include
burning, scalding, ingesting too
many tablets (not to kill
oneself), ingesting foreign
objects (swallowing blades
etc) hair pulling, bruising
oneself. These are just a
few examples.
(MayoClinic.com)
www.nosecrets.moonfruit.com
WHO IS AFFECTED?
Many people associate the term
self-injury or self-harm with teenagers.
However, the truth is, that anybody of
any gender, age or ethnic background
can be affected.
A lot of research into self-injury has been
looking at younger people, therefore there are
a lot of statistics around young people and
self- injury. There are less facts around about
mature people (usually people over 25).
It is not just people who have been diagnosed
with a mental illness that struggle with
self- injury. In fact, there are healthy, balanced
people who may use self-injury to cope with
major stressors.
CAN IT GET ANY BETTER?
There is no magic cure for self-injury. It is
known that self-injury is used as a coping
mechanism for most people. When the
intensity of their emotions reaches a certain
point it seems that injuring themselves is
the only way to release the emotions.
People often become trapped into this
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behaviour, and for them it becomes the
"norm".
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Other people seem to only turn to
self-injury during very stressful
events in their lives, and sometimes
go years without harming
themselves. Some people may self-
injure for years and might feel there is
no hope of them ever stopping. And for
some, they find alternative coping
mechanisms and find they can leave their self-
injurous behaviour behind.
There is hope for everybody who self-injures.
It can and does get better. People do stop
self-inuring when they are ready to do so or
when they have found an alternative.
HOW CAN OTHERS HELP?
If you know somebody who self-injures it is
important to try to understand as much as
possible what they are going through. Do not
threaten a loved one into stopping (by
threatening to harm yourself if they do, for
example). If a person only has self-injury as a
coping mechanism and that is taken away, they
have no way of releasing their emotions, which
may then lead to them feeling worse.
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No Secrets
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No PO Box 421
Secrets St Helens
s .. Merseyside WA10 9FF
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Tel: 07863 736647 or 07846 889300
E-mail: tina.sthelens@gmail or
kerri86@gmail.com