Self injury affects thousands of people across the UK. People with a history of self-harm deliberately inflict injury upon themselves, using a variety of methods, including cuttting or burning themselves or taking an overdose. The illness is often referred to as the 'secret shame' because many people hurt themselves secretly for some time before they ask for help, often because of fear and shame. A personal battle Katie Foulser, has battled against self harm since her early teens and founded The Self Harm Alliance to provide a valuable resource for other sufferers.  I self harmed because I couldn't cope with things I'd been through. I'd been bullied at school and had problems at home with my parents and I'd also suffered a rape. I had all of these feelings inside of me and no way of expressing them. | | Katie Foulsner |
She said: "I set the Self Harm Alliance up because I used to self harm myself in the past and I was met with a lot of misunderstanding and not a lot of support. I felt that when I recovered I wanted to do something to improve the situation. "It's predominately teenagers that self harm and the largest number of people that do it are young women but it does affect people of all ages and all genders." A common problem According to experts the problem is more common than most people think and is linked to feelings of low self-esteem. Katie explained, "To begin with I was scratching myself but overtime it developed into cutting myself and taking overdoses. "I self harmed because I couldn't cope with things I'd been through. I'd been bullied at school and had problems at home with my parents and I'd also suffered a rape. I had all of these feelings inside of me and no way of expressing them. "The self harm became a way of me expressing it to myself and acknowledging there was a problem when nobody else was." For two years Katie self harmed and it was only when she sought the help of her GP that her parents became aware of the problem. "My parents were shocked when they first found out I was self harming because they didn't know anything was wrong at all and then to be told there was something wrong and I'd actually gone to find help alone was quite difficult for them. They felt hurt and disappointed that they didn't know what to do or how to help. "After seeing my GP I went into hospital a few times and was put onto medication which didn't really help. It actually seemed to make the self harm worse because I was having to confront the things that were bothering me. "I then got private counselling and that really helped me because it enabled me to talk about things that had been bothering me and work through all my issues." Media attention Self harm has recently been highlighted in such teen soaps as Hollyoaks, and Katie believes only positive media attention helps. "If it's good media coverage and it reaches out to people that haven't heard of self harm before or haven't sought help it can make them feel less alone, and help them access the support they need. "Bad media coverage can be quite detrimental and doesn't help people who self injure themselves." | The founding idea of the website is that it is for people who self harm and also for their family and friends. | | Katie Foulsner |
Following her self harm experience Katie founded the Self Harm Alliance in order to help others in a similar situation. The website is a national survivor led voluntary group which supports people affected by self-harm.
Katie said, "The founding idea of the website is that it is for people who self harm and also for their family and friends. "It took quite a long time to set up as I didn't know anything about charities so it was a long process. We are quite well established now but we are always developing our services and enhancing what we provide. "We get a lot of queries via the website from self harmers but also their friends and families. This is because they don't know what to do, they feel lost and don't have enough information. They often feel confused about why their child or family member would self harm." Extra support Running in conjunction with the Self Harm Alliance Katie also offers a telephone helpline, and postal and email support. The helpline runs every Tuesday and Sunday between 6pm and 7pm, and every Thursday between 11am and 1pm. Katie is now fully recovered and said, "I'll never do it again as I've learnt other ways of coping, and I've dealt with all the things that caused me to do it in the first place. "Hopefully I can use that and the Self Harm Alliance to help other people." Article by Nat Hall
Your comments: Kaylie
self harm is an addiction. Treat it like one, not something that's in the mind or attention seeking. jim
as a father with a 15 year old daughter that has taken an overdose and is now in hospital, how am i to cope with all thats happend. James
Hi Nikita. I'm sorry to hear that you self-harm - you're not alone. Some good places to look for help are listed in the 'Internet Links' section of this website. Check them out. They can help you get free advice and won't judge you. The Samaritans and Childline, in particular, offer their services round the clock, 7 days a week. Best of luck. Nakita
Um.... I think if you cut you should get help because i cut and i need help about it so just try and help yourself and do whats rite. cassandra
i think that cutting is a way of relievingoneself from pain but she or he should lok for help and not be classified as a "mentally sick" person Chris
as a father of a girl who use to self harm my message to all other parents is no matter what keep telling them simply that you love them and always will Sara
Anyone who self harms shouldn't be ashamed and should seek help. It really helps to talk about it and work through your issues. | 
Katie Foulser, from Cheltenham, is the founder of The Self Harm Alliance.
