Preventing self-harm

Identifying people at risk and offering them strategies for dealing with stress and emotional education. 

Bullying prevention programs in schools.

Encourage family relationships. Build a trustworthy home environment. Perform leisure activities with all family members.

Encouraging social relations. Many people who self-harm feel alone and isolated. Talking to people who do not self-harm may improve social and communication skills.

Raising public awareness of the problem. For example, teaching adults who work with children or adolescents how to detect self-harm and how to help a person who may be self-harming. Designing programmes which encourage adolescents to look for help.

Supervise and regulate the use of Internet in teenagers.

Teaching adolescents to think critically about references to self-harm in music and on social networks. 

Talking to a trusted adult or friend about how you are feeling. If you are alone, call or text a friend.

Distracting yourself. Distraction is a useful strategy, as it involves finding something to do that makes self-harming less likely. For most people, the urge to self-harm lasts only a few minutes. If you manage not to act on it, the desire usually eases. It is recommended to make a list of activities that can be used as distractions, such as listening to music, watching television, or other things that keep your mind busy, create different strong sensations or take part in activities that keep you active. It is important to remember that distractions only help cope with the immediate urge, but does not solve the underlying problems that trigger self-harm. 

Do something relaxing, like going for a walk, dancing, doing relaxation exercises, or squeezing a stress ball.

Finding another way to express your feelings, like drawing or writing a diary.

Another option, if the emotional distress feels overwhelming, is to do something that produces strong physical sensations, such as holding ice cubes, snapping an elastic band on your wrist or eating something spicy.  

What to do

• Let them know that you care about what’s happening to them.
• Talk about their self-harming calmly and without judging them, listening carefully to the person without minimising their difficulties or trying to “fix” the problem. It is important that the person who self-harms feels heard.  
• Get information about self-harming and what to do about it.
• Ask for professional help, encouraging them to seek help.  
• Being patient with the therapeutic process. 
• For children or teenagers, families should increase supervision and consult their doctor or paediatrician as a priority.  
• Removing from their reach any potentially dangerous objects that could be used for self-harm (scissors, cutters, etc.). 

What not to do

• Ignore self-harming.
• Try to be their therapist.
• Get angry or punish them, as this will probably just make them feel worse. Self-harm is a learned behaviour, which means it can be modified and replaced with healthier ways of coping. 
• Make them promise not to do it again.
• Feel guilty about the self-harm or think you are responsible for stopping it.