Could Your Child Be Self-Harming
As a parent you may suspect that your child is self-harming. If you are worried, and have ruled out other potential abuse, look out for these potential signs:
- Unexplained cuts, burns or bruises
- Blood stains on clothing or dirty tissues in the bin
- Keeping themselves covered, avoiding swimming or changing clothes around others
- Items such as razors or kitchen utensils going missing in the home
- Being withdrawn or isolated from friends and family
- Low mood, lack of interest in life or depression
- Blaming themselves for problems or expressing feelings of failure, uselessness, hopelessness or anger
It can feel difficult to talk about self-harm, but it is important not to suffer in silence. People often hide self-harm because they feel ashamed or worried, which can get in the way of asking for help. Self-harm is not something to be ashamed of. Getting support for your child to manage the underlying reasons for the feelings causing the self-harm and discovering different ways of coping can help you to overcome self-harm as a family.
"I think for parents...it's important to know that you are not alone"
HealthTalk.org parent interview: https://healthtalk.org/experiences/alopecia/overview-physical-appearance-and-alopecia/
The important thing to remember is that you and your child are not alone - lots of young people go through this and come out the other side with different ways of coping with their feelings and new ways of solving problems.