General Chat

scary subject and to most it is not a subject to be talked about

But why not ...
lets talk about it

my lovely son has self-harmed on a number of occasions

Ann a self harmer is not a nasty person, nor are they a reflection on you

all you can do is be there for them

I've done it in the past, usually when very agitated or in emotional pain.

I found it easier to deal with physical rather than emotional pain, and in a strange sort of way I found it a release and outlet for stress. It seemed to help in situations where I felt completely powerless, or angry at others or myself.

I haven't done it for several years though.

Different people find different ways to release emotional pain.
I used to walk at night.

Possibly a lot more dangerous than self-harming!

he's a lovely person, gentle and kind but we had no idea at the time why he was doing it - now we know and after over thirty years it is being dealt with - we are awaiting a decision from the CPS - I'll leave it to your imagination as to why he was doing it

Someone very close to me has a history of self harming, from a very young age.

It was always done in secret and kept well hidden. Even when the secret came out it was not up for discussion for a long time and only when information was volunteered. It was a very personal thing.

A very difficult thing for me to get my head around but the internet was a great help and I was able to research the "whys and wherefores" because until then all I knew was what I had read in magazines.

To my knowledge this person has not self harmed for about two years, for a couple of years before then they had only done it occasionally, before then it was "scarey stuff".

This persons life is now on an even keel and hepefully it will stay that way

Ann, at last It's been recognised.

and following on from my son's trauma, I also self-harmed in that I took a massive overdose ending up in a psychiatric ward for over two weeks - ironic really as I worked in a psychiatric hospital

Maggi I used to walk at night also along the canal or any water, I still do

Something about the night turns the brain off :-D

I have to admit I've always refused to take MAOIs, because whilst I haven't been tempted to overdose for a long time , if I took MAOIs, I think I would be more vulnerable to self harm by eating cheese or marmite.

I'm feeling vulnerable at the moment because the psychopharmacology clinic in Bristol has been closed, and my GP can't prescribe two of the medications I got from the clinic.

I'm nearly out of that medication, and have been given an appointment with secondary mental health services, but am terriifed they will refuse me the drugs.

The irony is, whilst I've been on this particular medication regime, I was able to sign off from secondary mental health services and manage with my GP and Clinic 7.

I'm so scared that if they refuse to prescribe the medication because of the dosage or cost involved, that I will slide backwards and end up unable to hold down my job.

oh Kucinta - how I feel for you

Thank you Ann I appreciate your kindness.

. I see them next week, and I'm just so scared they will refuse me.

Because the clinic was involved in cutting edge research, they were probably bolder in experimenting with, and combining medications, than most psychiatrists would be. They would just keep going and tweaking until they found something that worked.

The clinic gave me my life back, and I feel so much for those who used it who were much more vulnerable than myself. People were referred from all over the South West, and for many of us it was very much the last resort.

That's dreadful Kucinta.
More thoughtless budget cuts.

It's been blamed on the University axing the post of the Clinician concerned, but the NHS refused to take up the slack.

I think it's short sighted, as the cost of caring for people who would have been helped by the clinic may well be greater than the cost of running the clinic, if their condition goes unresolved.

I was one of the lucky ones - Clinic 7 had found a good medication regime for me and I am functional, even if my world is a very small one. But it could all go so pearshaped if I lose access to that medication.

Others who used the clinic are probably at even more risk.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-18773710

Sorry Uzzi, I didn't mean to sidetrack the thread! :-(

keep us posted Kucinta - we're all here for you

A very dear friend of mine self harmed for a number of years.

I used to worry so much about her but she was adamant that i should keep it to myself and I didn't want her to stop opening up to me about it... so I promised i'd not tell anyone within our circle...especially not her mum.

The deal was..if she self harmed..she told me...she only ever did it when she was near a phone just in case she went a bit far by accident...I never ever told her off about it..just let her tell me...though it got to a stage where I knew she ws going to do it as it would build like a pressure cooker inside her and you could tell she was fighting the urge.

She would be tearful for a few days after..then ok for a while..then it would build again.
There was a definite pattern to it.

To my knowledge she hasn't self harmed since she had her children...but i do believe the trick is to never judge or scold those that do it...just make sure they're safe and be there. x

Thank you - if they turn me down , I know I'll find it very hard to fight my corner and psych myself up to challenge the decision, so it would help to know you are out there in my corner.

I do apologise for 'spilling', trouble is once you open up, it all comes flooding out!

I know I don't take much part in the chat threads, I'm too nervy and shy. However given all the upset there has been on the lists lately, I just want to say that the support this community offers its members should never be undervalued or overlooked. It can be easy to see what's going wrong on the boards, but there is still so much that is 'right'.

Thank you.

Kucinta you haven´t side tracked the thread at all.

Please let us know how you get on, the one thing that the GR community is good at is giving support where it is needed. If you don´t post anywhere else then come back to this thread <3