Many people underestimate the power of peer and family support when it comes to supporting someone who self-harms. I got in touch with a mental health nurse to speak about the importance of that support.
Gifty Markey is the Head of Nursing, Therapies & Quality for Mental Health and Learning Disabilities for Dorset Healthcare- a local community and mental health service to me.
Gifty and I spoke about the stigma surrounding self-harm, and how this impacts people's ability to reach out for help, which she said in turn makes family and peer support even more important.
"We need to educate one another, we need to just talk about it openly...just as we talk about cancer and diabetes and eating healthy, self-harm is another aspect of people's health. We need to bring it to the forefront of our public agendas"
Battling the stigma surrounding self-harm will not only make it easier for those suffering to reach out, but also make it simpler and less scary for those of us supporting our friends and family who self-harm.
Gifty has worked in the field of mental health for 20 years now and has vast experience and knowledge with dealing with people struggling with mental health difficulties, including self-harm. She explained to me that peer and family support can often be the start of the "journey of recovery".
The following audio will discuss the sensitive issue of self-harming. If you feel you are unable to listen to such content, please refer to our website, or if you are in urgent need of support, call the Samaritans on 116 123.
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