CONFESSIONS OF A SELF-HARMER ABBY*, 24

“I was around 13 when I started to self-harm. I was suffering from anxiety, but there was no real discussion in my school about mental health and no one wanted to be the kid who was crying all the time – especially if you can’t explain why you’re upset.

Self-harm was mostly a way to snap myself out of feeling anxious or panicking. Causing myself pain was a way to ground myself.

I think there was also an element of self-punishment to it. I didn’t have very high self-esteem, and sometimes thought that I deserved to be hurt. As a young girl, society tells you that you have to be gorgeous, thin, athletic, and have tons of friends to be worthy of love or happiness.

I already felt like I was falling short, but while cutting was a coping strategy, it also represented another way I was failing. It’s strange that there’s this stereotype that young women do it “for attention” – I didn’t want anyone to know.

After a few years, my mental health spiralled and I ended up in hospital, because my parents didn’t know what else to do.

There, a treatment plan was put in place and I was given medication to help with my panic attacks. When I started to get treatment for anxiety and depression, I learnt other, better coping skills and stopped selfharming as much.

Now, I’d tell my younger self that self-harm is much more common than you think. You’re not bad or broken, and there are people out there who know how to help you deal with it.” * Name has been changed

‘You are not bad or broken and there are people who know how to help you’